Ellis faces selection headache as Banyana gear up for Olympics

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has admitted she's faced with a difficult task to select her final squad to play Tanzania in the third round of the Olympics qualifiers.

Ellis has also implied she'll select the players on merit, basing it on what they've shown her during the ongoing training camp, made up of only local-based players. The first leg against Tanzania is on February 23 away and the return leg is billed for Mbombela Stadium four days later.

The winner of this tie will advance to the last round. Fifa awarded CAF only two spots for this year's Games, to be hosted by France in Paris, from July 26 to August 11.

"Training so far has gone really well. Players have put in a lot of effort and that makes my job much more difficult to select the final 23. It is becoming more and more difficult to select players, it is becoming more and more difficult to tell someone that they've not made it,'' Ellis said.

"We have some players who are still out injured and not available but that doesn't make it [selecting the final squad] any easier... it's still difficult. Obviously some players have raised their hands more than others. I have always said that it is up to the players to be selected."

Ellis is expected to announce her final 23-member team on Monday. One of the players who are still out injured is veteran defender Bambanani Mbane. The 33-year-old Mamelodi Sundowns star is still recovering from a severe ankle injury she picked up in the World Cup round of 16 tie against the Netherlands in Sydney, Australia, in August last year.

Banyana may have last played early in December, when they beat DR Congo 2-0 in the second leg of the same Olympic qualifiers second round, but Ellis is convinced the team hasn't really lost its connection, saying the aim was to have it energised.

"We are just trying to find that energy. The connection is always there because it is a group of players that have been together for a while.''