Bambanani Mbane might be playful and loud off the pitch but when it’s time to get down to business, she rolls up her sleeves and gives her all.
Mbane is currently in her second Women’s World Cup with Banyana Banyana in New Zealand, having made her debut with the team in the last edition in France four years ago.
During South Africa’s 2-1 loss to Sweden in their opening game here, she was her usual best, halting the opposition’s threats around the box and building going forward.
It was an impressive performance that proved her growth and versatility, having been partnered with Bongeka Gamede instead of her usual companion, Noko Matlou.
Matlou, who watched from the bench on the day, had formed a solid partnership with Mbane that inspired Banyana to their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations crown last year.
Speaking at their training base at Porirua Park yesterday – before she jokingly refused to take questions from the media – Mbane lifted the lid on her natural playing and leadership qualities.
“It’s just that I am a hard worker and I hate losing. So, when I get an opportunity (to play), I want to capitalise on it – despite how it came about. I just want to use it,” Mbane said.
And while individual performances at the World Cup are commendable, it will take a collective effort– on and off the pitch – for Banyana to reach the knockout stages.
South Africa are yet to reach the last-16 of the competition, having crashed out in the group stage in 2019 after losing to Spain, China, and Germany.
So, with Argentina and Italy now standing in the way of qualifying for the second round, Mbane has urged her teammates to build on their performance from last Sunday and be clinical up front.
“We really want to go into the last-16 and that will demand a lot from us as a team – we must capitalise on our chances. It won’t be easy but we want to be there,” she said.
With Argentina ranked 28th in the world – 26 spots ahead of the South Africans – they’ll be favourites to come away with the win against Banyana at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Friday (kick-off 2am).
And that’s why Mbane has urged her teammates not to read too much into their loss to Italy in the first game, and instead, they should work hard on rectifying their own mistakes and continuing with their positives.
“The game against Argentina is very important for us. We need to bury the chances that we’ll be getting. I think that’s what’s been lacking … otherwise the team has been developing,” Mbane said.
“For now, you cannot afford to undermine anyone because you don’t know which approach Argentina will take when they are coming to play us. But we need to focus on ourselves and continue with our spirit.”
Banyana have overcome a lot of adversity en route to their second World Cup in a row. Hence, they know what’s expected of them at all times – like their gallant fight against Sweden.
“In the girls’ performance against Sweden, I don’t think that people were expecting that. But we sat down as players (and decided to give our best) because we knew what was expected,” Mbane said.
“We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but we decided to fight as a team. I am glad that we achieved what we wanted to (even though we didn’t get the desired result).”