Banyana Banyana head coach Dr Desiree Ellis is targeting top spot finish in Group C despite having already secured progression to the WAFCON knockout stages.
The defending champions meet Mali in the final group game tonight in Oujda with both sides equal on four points from their first two games. The winner of the group will face the third best side from either Group A or B (Senegal or Botswana in this case) while the runners-up will face the runners-up from Group B which is Algeria.
Ellis says it will be dangerous to just want to play for a point instead of just aiming for maximum points.
“We can get a point, but I think to play for a point is very dangerous,” Ellis told Safa.net.
“As long as I can remember, when we needed a draw, we’ve never gone to play for a point because you get caught, I’ve seen it happen to big teams. I don’t know what year it was but Benni McCarthy at Porto, Man United needing a draw and losing it right at the end and so we’re not that kind of team that will take it out of our hands.
“Not sure what they [Mali] are going to do, obviously we’ll see when the game starts how they set up whether they sit deep or whether they come.
“But we have it in our hands to top the group, so we want to make sure that we win the game.”
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