Ellis names Banyana squad for Japan friendly

Nomvula Kgoale, Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo, Jessica Williams and Ongeziwe Ndlangisa were all called up while Lelona Daweti, who plays for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies, was the new face in the side.

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis takes her squad through a training session. Picture: @Banyana_Banyana/Twitter

Tholakele Mnganga | 718 days ago

JOHANNESBURG - Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has named a squad of 22 players to take on Japan in an international friendly match on 10 November.

Nomvula Kgoale, Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo, Jessica Williams and Ongeziwe Ndlangisa were all called up while Lelona Daweti, who plays for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies, was the new face in the side.

The match will be played in Asia and will be the first for the team since their loss to Botswana in an Olympic qualifier.

With the team building towards the African Cup of Nation qualifiers next year, Ellis explained her selection criteria.

"Some of the players were not available because they are writing matric exams,” she explained. “Then you have others who are writing varsity exams. We couldn’t select those players, so we went with the squad that we had."

South Africa have dropped down to 55th in the rankings after failing to secure a ticket to the 2020 Olympics, something that dis not surprise Ellis.

"When you lose to a lower-ranked team, a much lower-ranked team, it is expected that you will drop points," she said. "It’s not where we want to be and to put up a very good performance against Japan will improve the ranking as well but not just improve the ranking but also give a little more confidence after not qualifying for the Olympics."

BANYANA BANYANA SQUAD vs JAPAN