Head coach Desiree Ellis has shared her thoughts on the absence of striker and vice-captain Thembi Kgatlana at the upcoming Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
Ellis' troops will be out to defend their WAFCON title when they fly off to Morocco for the 2024 edition of the continental tournament that will kick off on 5 July and continue until 26 July.
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In another shock, the 26-player strong squad is without talismanic Thembi Kgatlana, who reportedly withdrew her participation due to 'personal reasons'.
Speaking on SABC Sport shortly after announcing the squad, Ellis said she was confident that other players would step up to fill Kgatlana's shoes at the tournament.
"There’s no two ways about it, she’s one of the top players in the country,” said Ellis on SABC Sport.
"But if you look back at 2022, when it came to the later stages of the tournament, Other players stepped up.
"If you look over the year, we went to Senegal, and we had a different group.
"We played Denmark, and we had a different group. Thembi came in for Hilda [Magaia], and a few other players came in for England, but didn’t go to Jamaica with a lot of the senior players.
"We had a February camp with a lot of young players, you know, played Mali, we had a few players come in and then played Zambia and Botswana. We didn’t have some players come in.
"So, there have been moments where we’ve looked at other players and given other players an opportunity.
"And yes, it’s not disappointing, but it’s a moment where we don’t have Thembi, but we’ve shown that we’re not a team that relies on one individual.
"When you look at our goal scorers, it’s a different goal scorer, and it’s another opportunity for someone else to step up again."
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Captain Refiloe Jane returns to the national set-up having enjoyed regular playing time at TS Galaxy. Hildah Magaia, Linda Motlhalo and Andile Dlamini are also present to provide vital experience.
Striker Jermaine Seoposenwe, who shockingly announced that she would be retiring after the tournament, is also in the final squad.
Banyana are in Group B and will kick off the defence of their title with a testing encounter against Ghana on Monday, 7 July.
Photo: Gallo Images/ Dirk Kotze