By KOPANO MONAHENG
Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis has stressed the importance of making a strong start to their 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign, warning her players not to underestimate their opponent.
South Africa have been drawn in Group B alongside Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Tanzania, and to progress to the knockout stages, Banyana needed to beat Tanzania in their opening fixture of the tournament today. Ellis expects a tough contest and wants her side to collect all three points.
“The first match of the tournament is always very important because it sets the tone for the rest of the competition,” the coach said. “We’ve put all our preparation into that opening game because you can’t look too far ahead without first getting a positive result,” she said.
A victory over Tanzania would put the defending champions in a strong position and ease the pressure ahead of their remaining Group B fixtures. Starting with a win would also boost confidence as Banyana chase another successful WAFCON campaign.
While the opening game does not determine the entire tournament. However, a positive result would give South Africa a momentum and improve their chances of progressing to the knockout stages.
She believes that strong performances in opening matches at previous tournaments have helped the team build momentum and successfully progress to the knockout stages. It’s not the first time that Banyana play against Tanzania, the two sides know each other very well.
“We’ve played them several times, and the matches have always been tight. They’re a team that can play good football, but they also bring a lot of physicality,” the coach said.
But coming to this match, according to Desiree, the technical team have done their homework by making sure that they studied video footage, analysed the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses.
“We’ve worked against physical teams over the last year and a half, so we’ve prepared extremely well. The players understand the game plan, and now it’s about executing it to get a positive result.”
The coach added that keeping a clean sheet was the only thing they needed to do to be successful.
“Our first priority is to keep a clean sheet. We know we’ll create scoring opportunities, and we need to be clinical in front of goal. It’s also important that we control the game, respond well to whatever the opposition throws at us, and play our football from there.”
