JOHANNESBURG – South Africa's Under-17 women’s soccer team will fine-tune their World Cup preparations by playing friendlies in Spain over the next few days.
Bantwana will fly out on Thursday where they are scheduled to play two friendly matches against UD Lavante Under-17s and Valencia CF Under-20s, before they return back to South Africa on September 30.
The Fifa Under-17 Under-17 Women’s World Cup will be played in Uruguay from November 13 to December 1.
Coach of the South African team, Simphiwe Dludlu, believes that her squad’s tour of Spain will play a key role in measuring how far they are in preparing for the World Cup.
“We are scheduled to play two friendly matches against developmental teams of two top sides plying their trade in Spain’s Women's First Division,” said Dludlu.
Bantwana in camp ahead of their tour to Spain. Photo: @SAFA_net on twitter
“We are expecting a very tough battle from both of them because of the kind of competitiveness they are exposed to in their respective leagues.
"We are expecting structure, speed and a bit of skill in their play when they come up against us but we are up to the challenge.”
The former Banyana Banyana defender says that she would love her side to play as many friendly matches as possible before they jet off to Uruguay for the main event as this will help them to get ready for their group.
Bantwana are in Group B, together with Mexico, Japan and Brazil in the World Cup.