As Banyana Banyana scored only one goal and missed many glorious chances during the 2019 World Cup in France, striker Hildah Magaia is confident she will be the answer to the side’s goal-scoring problem at this year’s tournament, having missed the previous global showpiece.
Magaia, who plies her trade for Sejong Sportstoto in South Korea, has been in fine form in recent months. It was at the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (Wafcon) final in Morocco where the 28-year-old striker proved she’s the kind of player Banyana can rely on in big moments, netting a brace that saw SA beat the hosts 2-1 to become African champions last year.
“It’s all about practising and making sure that you are getting everything right. So, I believe there’s a big difference between the team that was in the World Cup in 2019 and the current team. I wasn’t there in 2019, so as a goalscorer I believe I can do much better for the team,” Magaia said.
Thembi Kgatlana netted SA’s only goal in the 2019 edition of the global spectacle, where SA lost all their group stage games against Spain, Germany and China. Kgatlana’s strike came when Banyana lost 3-1 to Spain in their Group B opener. Magaia admits she has butterflies in her stomach heading into her maiden World Cup.
“This is my first World Cup, so there’s a lot of emotions...there’s nervousness but I believe that I am capable of anything. So, it’s about me being myself and also getting all the support I can get from my teammates to make sure we achieve our goals,” Magaia said.
The Banyana forward knows participating in the World Cup won’t be a walk in the park, banking on being the African champs. The competition will be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia from July 20 to August 12. Banyana are pitted against Sweden, Argentina and Italy in Group G, with their opener against the former on July 23. SA will be based in Wellington after leaving SA shores in two batches on Wednesday and yesterday.
“It’s not going to be easy but there’s a reason why we qualified for the World Cup, it means we are good enough to be there and we deserve to be there. Everybody knows that we are African champions, so obviously they [the opponents they’ll face] are going to be intimidated and look at us differently,” Magaia said.
Magaia vows to do the job for Banyana
Striker admits to nerves heading into maiden World Cup
Image: Tobi Adepoju/Gallo Images
As Banyana Banyana scored only one goal and missed many glorious chances during the 2019 World Cup in France, striker Hildah Magaia is confident she will be the answer to the side’s goal-scoring problem at this year’s tournament, having missed the previous global showpiece.
Magaia, who plies her trade for Sejong Sportstoto in South Korea, has been in fine form in recent months. It was at the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (Wafcon) final in Morocco where the 28-year-old striker proved she’s the kind of player Banyana can rely on in big moments, netting a brace that saw SA beat the hosts 2-1 to become African champions last year.
“It’s all about practising and making sure that you are getting everything right. So, I believe there’s a big difference between the team that was in the World Cup in 2019 and the current team. I wasn’t there in 2019, so as a goalscorer I believe I can do much better for the team,” Magaia said.
Thembi Kgatlana netted SA’s only goal in the 2019 edition of the global spectacle, where SA lost all their group stage games against Spain, Germany and China. Kgatlana’s strike came when Banyana lost 3-1 to Spain in their Group B opener. Magaia admits she has butterflies in her stomach heading into her maiden World Cup.
“This is my first World Cup, so there’s a lot of emotions...there’s nervousness but I believe that I am capable of anything. So, it’s about me being myself and also getting all the support I can get from my teammates to make sure we achieve our goals,” Magaia said.
The Banyana forward knows participating in the World Cup won’t be a walk in the park, banking on being the African champs. The competition will be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia from July 20 to August 12. Banyana are pitted against Sweden, Argentina and Italy in Group G, with their opener against the former on July 23. SA will be based in Wellington after leaving SA shores in two batches on Wednesday and yesterday.
“It’s not going to be easy but there’s a reason why we qualified for the World Cup, it means we are good enough to be there and we deserve to be there. Everybody knows that we are African champions, so obviously they [the opponents they’ll face] are going to be intimidated and look at us differently,” Magaia said.
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