Ellis expresses regret over Banyana's Olympic absence
Desiree Ellis, the coach of South Africa, has voiced her disappointment over Banyana Banyana's inability to secure a spot in the women's football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Banyana will sit out their second consecutive Olympics following a goalless draw in the second leg of their African Women’s Olympic qualifying playoffs on Tuesday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Despite being reigning African champions, they progressed with a narrow 1-0 aggregate victory.
Ellis attributed her team's Olympic exclusion to their slow start and tactical formation.
"After the game, Ellis emphasized, 'We understood the importance of scoring as we entered this match.'"
"We understood the importance of scoring early because as the game progressed, desperation set in. Our initial performance was not up to par, prompting us to tweak the formation in search of goals," Ellis remarked.
"In the first half, we didn't push forward as aggressively as we had hoped. We made adjustments during halftime and threw everything we had at them in the second half. Unfortunately, we couldn't find that crucial goal, and we're deeply disappointed," she continued.
Ellis's team will now shift their focus to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, where they are the defending champions.
Following their success, Nigeria will compete in Group C in the women’s soccer competition at the Games – marking their first Olympic appearance since Beijing in 2008. They will face off against world champions Spain, Japan, and Brazil.
Leave A Comment