Banyana Banyana coach Vera Pauw believes her team is ready to expose China's weaknesses ahead of Saturday's crucial Rio Olympics Group E clash.
The match has been billed as a do-or-die affair as both teams lost their opening games. Banyana went down to an unfortunate 1-0 defeat to Sweden, while China suffered a 3-0 loss to Brazil.
A win for either side could put them back into contention with both Sweden and Brazil scheduled to face each other in the other Group E encounter.
Nonetheless, Pauw believes Banyana have the upper hand having studied their opponent's weaknesses ahead of the clash.
She told the national football association's official website: "We have been monitoring China for a while now, and seeing them play Brazil didn’t give us anything new."
The coach added: "They are technically sound and very mobile, they are not strong physically but can move the ball around and that is what we need to guard against - if we give them openings they can break us, so we have to work hard to put them under pressure and not allow them to play, and that will be half the job done."
Banyana's clash with China gets underway from 12:00 midnight (SA time) in Rio de Janeiro.
Banyana ready to expose China's weaknesses
Banyana Banyana coach Vera Pauw believes her team is ready to expose China's weaknesses ahead of Saturday's crucial Rio Olympics Group E clash.
The match has been billed as a do-or-die affair as both teams lost their opening games. Banyana went down to an unfortunate 1-0 defeat to Sweden, while China suffered a 3-0 loss to Brazil.
A win for either side could put them back into contention with both Sweden and Brazil scheduled to face each other in the other Group E encounter.
Nonetheless, Pauw believes Banyana have the upper hand having studied their opponent's weaknesses ahead of the clash.
She told the national football association's official website: "We have been monitoring China for a while now, and seeing them play Brazil didn’t give us anything new."
The coach added: "They are technically sound and very mobile, they are not strong physically but can move the ball around and that is what we need to guard against - if we give them openings they can break us, so we have to work hard to put them under pressure and not allow them to play, and that will be half the job done."
Banyana's clash with China gets underway from 12:00 midnight (SA time) in Rio de Janeiro.
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