Lack Of Hunger Is A Lie – Dlamini
Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Andile Dlamini has strongly refuted claims that the team has lost its desire for success, emphasizing that their passion consistently fuels their drive to win more.
Her comments come as South Africa prepares to face Tanzania in their second fixture at Honneur Stadium on Friday at 21:00, with both teams aiming for crucial three points.
Banyana Banyana kicked off their tournament campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over Ghana, while Tanzania suffered a 1-0 loss to Mali. This sets the stage for a highly anticipated match where Tanzania will likely push hard for a win.
A victory for South Africa in this upcoming game would automatically secure their spot in the next round of the tournament with a game to spare.
Dlamini believes that despite achieving significant milestones, such as winning the WAFCON 2022 and reaching the last 16 of the World Cup, the hunger for further success remains strong within the squad.
“We won the WAFCON and participated in the World Cup, and went to the last 16. To somebody who feels that we don’t have hunger, that’s a lie, I would say,” said Dlamini.
“There’s always something to strive especially when you play for the badge and you play for a country. We’re representing a country that is filled with people who are joyful, people who love football, and people who are passionate, and that also represents us. We are passionate and we’re full of love, and we want to win a lot of things, and passion is forever within us.”
She further commented: “I think it’s important that everyone understands that when someone goes on the field of play, they don’t want to disappoint. They always want to make sure that everybody is happy at the end of the day. So the passion is there, there’s so much that we still need to achieve as a team. There’s so much that we want to see the team get at the end of this, not only winning the trophy, but changing people’s lives.
“That young girl who looks up to Banyana Banyana to say I’m also capable of coming in and representing my country with pride, and also make history. So there’s so much,” Dlamini stated.
Dlamini, who was named goalkeeper of the tournament in the 2022 edition, further noted that they’re pressured as defending champions, but they have to believe in each other and take one game at a time.
“Obviously, as defending champions, there will be so much pressure, but we take it one game at a time, and we don’t focus on the pressure a lot,” said Dlamini.
“We focus on making sure that we perform to the best of our abilities on the day given, because when you do well, when you score goals and you make sure that you don’t concede, you have high chances of winning.
“So that’s what we focus on, but as a team we told ourselves that we need to win every game and make sure that we qualify for the next stage and when we get to the next stage, we qualify for the next stage and then we get to the finals where we have to compete for the trophy and want to win the trophy.
“The pressure is there, but we have to believe in each other and believe in what we are capable of as South Africans. I think we’re capable of anything, as much as we can work for each other in the field of play.
“What is it that we want at the end of the day, especially in the group matches, is results, and results are three points, and then we move to the next one up until we get to quarter-finals, where it’s just knockout, where you have to win the game.”
Dlamini further commented that facing Tanzania will be difficult, but they fear no one in this tournament. “So with the group stages, we want three points and that is it. We want three points, but right now we’re focusing on the next game, which is Tanzania. It’s not going to be an easy one, it’s a team that is full of energy, a strong team, although they lost, but for us, we have some positives that they’ve done and we respect them, but we fear nobody in this tournament.”
