Banyana want to continue where they left off in 2018, where they won the COSAFA Championships, qualified for the World Cup by reaching the final at the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in Ghana and were named SA Team of the Year at the South African Sports Awards.
Their World Cup preparations begin with a match against the Netherlands in the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Inauguration Challenge at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (15h00), before they take on Sweden in the Albertina Sisulu Centenary Challenge on Tuesday at the same venue.
“Camp is going really well. All the players are buzzing at training and ready for another tough year ahead. We know there is a lot of hard work to be done and what better test for us than playing top-quality teams such as the Netherlands and Sweden,” Van Wyk told SAFA's website.
“We have come a long way and have grown so much in our game over the past year. I am pretty confident that it would be tough for opponents to break us down if we manage to stay on top of our game. The good thing is we have played and lost to both nations before, so we know what to expect. We could not have asked for such great start to our preparations in such an important year for women’s football. Whatever the outcome this time around, the main aim is to make sure we are ready for the tournament in June – and it all starts here and now.”
Banyana have been drawn into Group B at the World Cup, with Germany, Spain and China PR. The tournament will be played in France from June 7 to July 7.