Motlhalo vows Banyana will realise their dream

Banyana Banyana want to qualify for the knockout phase of the ongoing World Cup, co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, to inspire the next generation.

This is according to midfielder Linda Motlhalo.

SA needs to beat Italy in their last Group G game at Wellington Regional Stadium tomorrow in order to book their spot in the last 16 of the global spectacle. SA drew 2-all against Argentina in their second pool stages game on Friday, where they surrendered a two-goal cushion. 

“The dream of going into the next round is very much alive. We are very positive as a team that we’ll win against Italy,” Motlhalo, who scored her first World Cup goal in the opener against Argentina, said.

“It’s very important for us to achieve and make history for the next generation so that when they come here they know that they shouldn’t take things for granted because when you are in the Banyana team, you are working for the nation.”

The Glasgow City player also emphasised that they’ve learnt valuable lessons from their past two games against Sweden and Argentina, hoping to use them against Italy. Sweden beat Banyana 2-1 two weeks ago. 

“As a team we sat down and analysed both the games we played against Sweden and Argentina. We saw where we went wrong and we also took the positives out of those two games. Going into this Italy game, we know what’s needed of us,” Motlhalo said.

“Leading 2-0 and eventually drawing 2-2 was very disappointing. It was a game we were supposed to win. Game management will be important against Italy because we can’t afford to find ourselves in a similar situation again against Italy.”

The Banyana star also reflected on scoring that goal against Argentina. “Scoring my first ever World Cup goal felt so amazing. The only thing I could do was to cry and thank God,” Motlhalo said.