South Africa midfielder Bambanani Mbane admitted they are tired but motivated to play the Netherlands in the round of 16 of the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Sunday morning.
Banyana Banyana made history on Wednesday when they recorded their first win in the competition with a 3-2 victory against Italy and they also advanced into the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup for the first time.
South Africa have a chance to continue their fairytale run in Australia and New Zealand when they battle Netherlands who finished atop of Group E at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
Ahead of the crunch encounter, Mbane disclosed that the African champions will give their all after going beyond expectations to survive Group G hurdles that had Sweden, Argentina and Italy.
“Honestly, we are tired, but we don’t have a choice. We have to push,” Mbane told FIFA website. “We played the Netherlands in 2019 in South Africa. They beat us 2-1.
“The last time we played with them, it was in the Netherlands. They won 5-1. So it’s not going to be an easy one, but we’ll fight. For us it doesn’t matter who we’re playing now. It’s 90 minutes. We have to push. How badly do we want it?
“We’ve done so well. Even in the Sweden game (a 2-1 defeat), we did so well. Now nothing is going to stop us.”
South Africa are making their second appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup after their debut outing in 2019 where they lost all matches.
The Mamelodi Sundowns star confessed that it has been a difficult tournament with 32 teams jostling for glory.
She added: “This whole World Cup, it’s a tough one. But I did tell people from home: we are going there as African champs. It’s not going to be easy, so keep pushing and pushing until the final.”
