Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis has revealed what they are banking on to help them take on the Netherlands in their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup last 16 encounter.
South Africa won their first ever game at a World Cup and qualified for the round of 16 for the first time after a late 3-2 win over Italy on Wednesday in their final group game.
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The African champions will be up against Netherlands, who are ranked ninth by FIFA, in the round of 16 on Sunday morning and Ellis has revealed that they know a lot more about the Dutch side through former Banyana coach Vera Pauw, who is a Netherlands native. Pauw coached Banyana between 2014 and 2016.
"We've played Netherlands a few times, even last year before we went to WAFCON, they are a fantastic side. Through coach Vera, who was our coach before, we know a lot about the Netherlands as well," Ellis said in a press conference provided by SAFA.
Pauw replaced Joseph Mkhonza as South Africa coach in 2014 and had a two-year stint in charge but resigned after leading South Africa to the 2016 Olympics.
The Amsterdam native, who coached her home country as well, frequently arranged friendlies with Netherlands while in charge of Banyana.
Pauw made history with the Irish women's national team after guiding them to their first FIFA World Cup, the current edition. Her position as coach is now under review after Ireland picked up just one point in a group that consisted of Australia, Canada and Nigeria.
This is how Ellis described South Africa's challenge when facing Pauw's nation, Holland on the weekend.
"It's going to be a very tough match, they've played really well on their side but now it's a knockout match, it's all to play for, there's no second chance, there's no tomorrow, it's on the day."
"And we're gonna make sure we recover very quickly and get ready for the game, it's all to play for. This team has shown that they have resilience. They've shown that they can be brave. They've shown that nothing can stop them if they put their mind to it and play for each other," she added.
The last time Banyana played Netherlands in a friendly they lost 5-1 in April last year but have shown tremendous improvement and big match temperament after narrowly losing 2-1 to third-ranked Sweden in their opening game at the World Cup and then beat Italy, who are ranked 16th.
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