Banyana Banyana and Brazil have confirmed their starting line-ups for this evening’s international friendly at the Orlando Stadium.
It is the first of two international friendlies between the two nations, with the teams set to meet on Monday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium as well.
Technically it is not Banyana’s first game since they won the WAFCON in Morocco in July, as South Africa are also competing at the Cosafa Cup currently, although the country is being represented by a youthful squad at the regional tournament, with Simphiwe Dludlu acting as an interim coach in Gqeberha. Banyana beat Angola 3-0 on Wednesday in their Cosafa opener.
Ellis is using these two friendly games as part of Banyana’s preparations for next year’s FIFA World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand.
“We are really excited as a team. We asked for good preparation [ahead of the World Cup] and we are really grateful to SAFA and SASOL for starting us off with such a fantastic team,” Ellis told SAFA media.
“They are a top team, won the Copa América Femenina, a lot of their players play for big clubs abroad and they have a top coach who has coached all over the world. So I think it will be an exciting game.
“It will be a big test for us and that is what we want, especially after WAFCON, to test the players and see where we are at.
“We are expecting the crowd to come out. We have played for a long time without any fans and we hope that the fans will come out and support us in this game.”
Here’s how the two teams line-up:
Banyana Banyana XI: Dlamini,Dhlamini, Ramalepe, Mbane, Gamede, Jane Motlhalo, Biyana, Seoposenwe, Cesane, Magaia
Brazil XI: Leite, Feitoza, Souza, de Britto, de Oliveira, da Silva, da Costa Silva, Sampaio, Borges, Ferreira, Ferraz
In this edition of iDiski Times, we talk to Sibusiso Mabiliso who talks about his time at Kaizer Chiefs and how he feels he didn’t really get the chance to show what he was capable of. We also hear from African football legend Yaya Toure, who discusses the significance of Benni McCarthy’s appointment at Manchester United as well as his ambitions to help grow the game. Get this and a whole lot more in the full edition below:
