South African women’s Football team Banyana Banyana have been eliminated from the 2023 Women’s World Cup after a 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands on Sunday at the Sydney Football Stadium.
It was a hard-fought performance by the 2022 Wafcon champions, but not enough to defeat the Oranje Lionesses
The Dutch grabbed an early lead in the ninth minute after Banyana Banyana failed to clear a header coming in from a corner kick, and the ball kindly fell to Jill Roord who scored her fourth goal of the tournament.
Goalkeeper Kaylin Swart had to be at her best to pull off some good saves that kept South Africa in the game at the Sydney Football Stadium.
At the other end, Thembi Kgatlana was a menace and kept the Dutch defence on their toes thanks to her unpredictable runs and pace.
She had two shots on target, but the inspired Dutch custodian Daphne van Domselaar kept her at bay.
Despite a good show by South Africa in the first half, coach Desiree Ellis was forced to change her tactics after Bambanani Mbane and Jermaine Seoposenwe were forced off with injuries.
After the break, the South Africa defence was caught napping in the 54th minute when Victoria Pelova made a run into the area and passed the ball to Lieke Martens who did well to get past her marker before firing home. However, after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed for a marginal offside call.
The decision did nothing to negatively affect the Netherlands who continued knocking at Banyana’s door. In the 68th minute, Swart mishandled a seemingly harmless Lineth Beerensteyn’s strike that rolled into the back of the net.
A 2-0 down it was a long road back for the Wafcon champions and while Kgatlana kept pushing for a goal, Oranjes held on to the win and set a quarter-final date with Spain.
Despite the loss, Banyana will come home with their heads held high after they defied the odds to get into the knockout phase for the first time in their history.
Which is better than their first World Cup appearance in France 2019 when they failed to win a point and scored just a solitary goal.
