Spain vs South Africa: Newbie Banyana Banyana on the world stage...by Elume Raymond – Sports Analyst

South Africa will make its Women's World Cup debut in 2019, as Desiree Ellis' side are one of
four first-timers this summer in France. South Africa faces an uphill battle in a group with
traditional powers Germany and China and upstarts Spain. But qualification was a huge success
for South Africa and a sign of progress regarding women's football in the country.

 A world power on the men's side, Spain's women's team has made a ton of progress over the
past decade and enters France 2019 at what is arguably its highest point. Spain is back for its
second straight and second-ever World Cup and will be keen to improve on a 20th-place finish
in 2015. Its unbeaten qualifying campaign suggests the team is well-equipped to do just that,
Spain won all their eight qualifying games but were handed a tough draw in France coming up
against Germany, China and South Africa in the group – and if they finish second, they could
face the United States in the last 16.




Banyana Banyana have – through their togetherness, the influx of youthful exuberance and the
experience of the head coach, Desiree Ellis – won the hearts of South African fans and the
continent will be watching in anticipation when they go into battle in France.
Previous Meetings in Major Tournaments
None.






Recent form
Spain
5 Apr 2019: Spain-Brazil: 2-1
9 Apr 2019: England-Spain: 2-1
17 May 2019: Spain-Cameroon: 4-0
24 May 2019: Spain-Canada: 0-0
2 Jun 2019: Spain-Japan: 1-1
South Africa
27 Feb 2019: S. Africa-Finland: 2-2
1 Mar 2019: S. Africa-N. Korea: 1-4
4 Mar 2019: Czech-S. Africa: 2-1
6 Mar 2019: S. Africa-Finland: 0-3
2 Jun 2019: S. Africa-Norway: 2-7
What Spain must do to win it - Strengths/Weaknesses.

England even dropped points along the way. Spain is a nation on the rise inwomen's socc
 The nucleus of Vilda’s squad, unsurprisingly, is made up by players from Barcelona and Atlético
and a total of 15 players from the two clubs were called up. The defence has a heavy Barcelona
feel to it with the exception of the centre-back Irene Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain) and the
right-back Celia Jiménez (Reign FC).



Other non-Barça-Atlético players are Alba Redondo, the forward who has had a really strong
season with Albacete and won her first cap in January, and Nahikari García from Real Sociedad.
Spain did not get past the quarter-finals at Euro 2017 and this tournament will be a test of the
maturity of the coach and the players.


Vilda likes to play in a 4-3-3 formation with a freedom to switch positions for the players but
Spain have been lacking a cutting edge going forward recently and have also made some basic
mistakes in defence. Yet they have usually been able to respond well and the World Cup will be
an intriguing test as to where Spain stand in the women’s game at this moment in time.



X-factor for the game: Jennifer Hermoso
Spain was the only European nation to amass the maximum 24 points available in qualification.
Spain's 8-0-0 record was massively impressive, especially when you consider powers such as
Germany and er and its youth hints the team is here to stay.

What South Africa must do to win it - Strengths/Weaknesses




The team will be reliant on their attackers to help push them forward, with their threat up front
having been one of their main strengths under Ellis – they scored 24 goals between March and
October 2018 when they managed to find the net in 10 consecutive games – and they have a
host of attack-minded players who already have experience of playing club football outside the
country. One slight problem is that their conversion rate could be better – they create many
more chances than they take.



Players such as Thembi Kgatlana, Linda Motlhalo, Rhoda Mulaudzi, Jermaine Seoposenwe,
Refiloe Jane and Leandra Smeda will all be looking to chip in with goals and assists wherever
possible, using the skills that they have picked up on their travels.



There will, however, be some apprehension going into their opening game against Spain given
they were not able to win any of the seven matches that followed their defeat in the final of the
2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, and their lack of clean sheets of late is a worry. The last
time Banyana beat non-African opposition was in a 1-0 win over Hungary in March last year,
but they will be hoping to change that in Le Havre, Paris or Montpellier.





They may lack a little in physicality but Banyana have had the opportunity in recent years to
play consistently against better, more structured opposition on the international stage,
something that will no doubt stand them in good stead going into the World Cup.
X-factor for the game: Linda Motlhaho
South Africa will lean on a defense led by veterans Janine Van Wyk (159 caps) and Noko Matlou
(89 caps) that conceded only two goals in five games at the 2018 Africa Cup of Nations. While
South Africa hasn't played at a World Cup before, the team did participate at the 2016 Olympics
and performed admirably. The biggest takeaway from its 2016 appearance in Rio was how well
its defense held up. South Africa gave up just three goals in three games in a tough group with
Sweden, China and Brazil.

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