Banyana made to sweat by Botswana in friendly
Banyana Banyana started the final phase of their preparations for the 2025 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco in July with a 3-2 win over stubborn Botswana in their Tri-Nations friendly at Lucas Moripe Stadium yesterday.
Banyana coach Desiree Ellis started the match geared towards build-up to South Africa's defence of their Wafcon 2022 title with veteran midfielder Refiloe Jane, who was making her return to the team for the first time in more than a year after injury.
Jane, who stayed on the pitch for 70 minutes until she was replaced by Bongeka Gamede, played closely with Amogelang Motau in the heart of the midfield.
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Banyana Banyana win tri-series with a perfect record ahead of Wafcon
Jermaine Seoposenwe scored for Banyana Banyana against Zambia on Tuesday. Photo: BackpagePix Image: Backpagepix Jermaine Seoposenwe starred for Banyana Banyana, who pulled off a clean sweep in the Cosafa Tri-Nations series in their preparations for the Women's Africa Cup of Nations. Seoposenwe scored the winner in the 2-0 win over Zambia in the final game of the series at Lucas Masterpieces Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. The Mexico-based striker had also scored a brace in the 3-2 win over Botswana in their opener, as they finished the series with a perfect record on home soil. Seoposenwe makes it 2-0 to Banyana Banyana — Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) June 3, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Seoposenwe's goal against the Copper Queens came late in the second half, as she capitalised from a poor clearance at the back, before slotting home from close-range. Bongeka Gamede had put the defending African champions in the driving seat in the 74th minute, as she rattled the roof of the net with a thunderbolt free-kick. On paper, it was the perfect day in the office for Desiree Ellis and her troops, but the coach will know that Banyana's work is still cut out for them ahead of Wafcon next month. The Copper Queens' talisman Barbra Banda had many openings in this game, especially in the first half. She only lacked support, which could have punished Banyana. So, given there'll be no room for error at Wafcon, Banyana need to be at their best in defence ... if they are to plug their shortcomings. What was also disappointing about Banyana's defence is that they had their regular defence, including central defender Bambanai Mbane and Lebohang Ramalepe. The latter seemingly forgot her role as a defender early on, as she was mostly high up the field, instead of keeping Banyana's shape in defence. Even with her adding numbers up-front, Seoponsenwe and Amogelang Motau were still not clinical in the early stages of the match. Ramalepe was fully converted to a forward in the second half and that swung the tide in Banyana's favour, as Gamede and Seoposenwe chipped in with their all important goals. Ellis will put her head on the block in the next few weeks and announce her final squad for Wafcon as she's already naming the preliminary squad. Scorers BANYANA BANYANA (0) 2 Gamede 74, Seoposenwe 82 ZAMBIA 0