South Africa will be “punished” unless they perform better in their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) semi-final against Zambia, according to midfielder Linda Motlhalo.
Banyana Banyana sneaked past Tunisia 1-0 in the last eight on Thursday, a result which also saw Desiree Ellis’ side qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
“The fact we needed to qualify for the World Cup put ourselves under pressure, instead of just keeping the ball and playing our football,” Motlhalo told BBC Sport Africa.
“We scored a goal and we stopped playing. We could do better. Now we’re going to the semi-final, if we don’t play we’ll get punished.”
A first-half goal scored by Jermaine Seoposenwe was enough to see the 2018 Wafcon runners-up through to their second World Cup.
But the South Africans, playing without injured star Thembi Kgatlana, struggled to put away a host of good chances in the second half, were nervy at the back and came under a period of sustained pressure from the Tunisians.
“The main focus was on the objectives we have as a team,” midfielder Refiloe Jane, who was returning from Covid-19, said.
“We needed each other more than ever. We stayed together. We fought for one another and made sure we got the result.”