Mbatha praises Bantwana Spirit

Coach Dalisile Mbatha guided her side to the title with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Zambia at the Bingu National Stadium.

She explains why her youngsters earned their medals.

"This tournament was very good for us. We worked for this. If you remember very well in South Africa the girls are writing their exams in November. So, immediately after the exams, we got them back in camp to train.

They were not fit, and we were worried, but they've outdone themselves. We learnt a lot from the tournament. We were well organised. Most importantly something that we have learned from this tournament is consistency and confidence," she said.

Mbatha wants to see Bantwana play similar opponents going forward if they stand any chance of improving against the rest of the continent.

“These high-intensity games prepare and sharpen us. We need to make sure that our skills are always challenged. If you are not getting any challenges, you will never be a good player and you will not get a good team. This challenge was very welcome," she added.

The coach says what stood out for her was the character of the players selected to go and complete this assignment representing Team SA.

"These girls are very special. They listen attentively, they take the instruction very well. They're also very disciplined, very focused and they came here to win," Mbatha explained.

Bantwana will look ahead to the 2024 World Cup qualifiers in the Caf zone next year,  with a new team as the current group is expected to graduate to the U20 side.

Coach Simphiwe Dludlu aims to use nine of the players aged 14-15 years from this Cosafa-winning outfit when she does return to the hot seat.