MALDONADO – The SA women’s team will begin their quest for the country’s first-ever Under-17 World Cup title with a match against Mexico at Estadio Domingo Burgueño Miguel in Uruguay on Tuesday.
Kick-off is at 5pm local time which will be 10pm in South Africa.
The two teams have met once in this tournament back in 2010 and Mexico thumped Bantwana 4-0 in a group match.
Bantwana coach Simphiwe Dludlu and her technical team believe they have prepared adequately for this match with the help of video reviews and are well aware of what they will be coming up against.
“We are anticipating anything and already had one or two sessions under the rain and handled it pretty well,” said Dludlu
“Obviously there will be a tactical approach on how we want to exploit the conditions. The first 10 minutes will be very crucial to see how they want to play,” she added.
The #U17WWC gets underway in two days here in Uruguay. The 🏟️in Montevideo, Colonia & Maldonado are having the final touches applied.🖌️ pic.twitter.com/MNklOC7KRh
— FIFA Women's World Cup 🇫🇷 (@FIFAWWC) November 12, 2018
The Uruguayan weatherman predicts a rainy match day however coach Dludlu believes the team will cope under any kind of conditions.
“We know that they have got the height and they did well in their qualifiers, beating Canada in the semifinals and losing to USA in the final 3-2.
"It shows character and longevity, so in terms of tournament experience they are ahead because we last played a tournament in July, but that doesn’t mean they are superior."
Bantwana held their last training session on Monday in the morning and everyone is fit.
Midfielder Karabo Dhlamini is suspended for the opening game after being sent off in the qualifier against Morocco.