Thembi Kgatlana is confident that Banyana Banyana can reach the Women’s World Cup final.
South Africa progressed to the last 16 of the competition that is taking place in Australia and New Zealand with a 3-2 win over Italy on Wednesday.
It is the first time a South African national team have reached the knockout stages of a World Cup, and it was the Banyana captain who scored the all-important third goal at the Wellington Regional Stadium.
Kgatlana and her teammates will face the Netherlands in their last 16 encounter, with a game against Switzerland or Spain awaiting the winner.
Speaking after her recent heroics, the Banyana captain said in the Sowetan: “I think now anything is possible for us.
“We can go all the way to the final. We must just believe in ourselves and make sure we play our best football. We came into the tournament as African champions, so we had to show why we are the best on the continent.
“This is a big win.”
Banyana lost their opening game of the competition, 2-1 to Sweden, before holding Argentina to a 2-2 draw, meaning a win over Italy was needed to progress.
Kgatlana added: “We knew it was not going to be easy. We had to put up a good fight and we did exactly that. This is a good sign about women’s football in the country, it shows that we are improving.”
Kgatlana - Banyana can reach World Cup final https://t.co/jSrfvctqJw
— Iveri Blak (@iveriblak) August 3, 2023
