Banyana Banyana are in the Super Falcons’ group and both teams were finalists during the last edition of the tournament
South Africa coach, Desiree Ellis has revealed that they will not be disrespecting their other group opponents and focus solely on Nigeria.
With female football on the continent growing in leaps and bounds, every team has become a potential danger for opposition and Ellis isn’t taking anything for granted.
“We can’t underestimate anyone. They are there because they deserve to be there and we saw Burundi beating Tanzania and Botswana coming through,” Ellis said.
“You have Senegal beating Mali, who were semifinalists in 2018, and Tunisia knocking out two-time champions Equatorial Guinea. Women’s football on the continent is on the rise.
“We have to make sure we move in that direction so we don’t get left behind.”
Banyana Banyana will face Nigeria in a repeat of the 2018 final in Rabat on the 4th of July.
According to Times Live, Ellis said the South Africans are also targeting the trophy and will be naive not to.
“We have to make sure we get a positive result from the first match because that will set the tone for the rest of the tournament,” Ellis said.
“It will also be naïve of us to go to the tournament and not set a goal of winning it. I think we will be no different from any other country in wanting to win it.
“We’ve been runners-up five times and 2018 was really the closest. The time is now that we really step up and make sure we get that gold medal, but we must not underestimate any teams in our group.”