Banyana Banyana need to 'dig deep' against physical Ivory Coast

Banyana Banyana defender Karabo Dhlamini speaks on the pressure facing South Africa ahead of their crucial WAFCON fixture against Ivory Coast in Casablanca. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Facing an early exit after a shock opening defeat, Banyana Banyana defender Karabo Dhlamini is refusing to panic. Ahead of Friday's must-win WAFCON fixture against Ivory Coast, Dhlamini insists that executing their gameplan down to the last detail is the only way to tame the physical West Africans. Banyana lost their opening Group B match 2-1 to Tanzania, suffering a massive blow in confidence at the start of the tournament, while also putting their run to the Fifa Women's World Cup 2027 in jeopardy. They will need to dig deep and find the courage to get pass Les Éléphantes, who sit on top of the group after smashing Burkina Faso in their opening match. Banyana will be acutely aware that not only is progression to the next round in danger but also qualification to next year's World Cup. Only the Top 4 nations in WAFCON will qualify for the showpiece event. Dhlamini said the pressure is now on the South African team to deliver. "I think actually there is pressure, because they won their game, so I feel like they have momentum and we still have to fix ourselves," she said. "So the pressure is on us, because we can't drop any more points here. As players we know it's not going to be an easy, but we're going to try our best." The physicality of the Ivorians is something that will need to be matched if Banyana want to come out the other side of 90 minutes victorious. The West African nation are an intimidating presence on the pitch, but Dhlamini believes they have it in them. "I think it's not going to be easy, but it is a tournament" Dhlamini said. "Teams have improved, and I think we also need to improve. They're physical, they have quick players and they're strong. We just need to have a gameplan, and we just need to focus more on ourselves on how we're going to approach this game, Winger Linda Motlhalo said the loss was not the start they hoped for, but finding solutions to their problems is the only way forward. "We understand it's not always going to go our way. But the biggest thing is to dig deep. It's a long tournament. There are a lot of games that are going to be played," Motlhalo said. Banyana Banyana face off against Ivory Coast in Casablanca on Friday at 7pm. Jehran Naidoo is sports reporter for Independent Media and social media coordinator of the our YouTube channel The Clutch