Amogelang Motau: Morocco friendly is key to help build team culture

The national team is expected to jet off to Casablanca on Friday evening, with the match against the Atlas Lionesses taking place on 2 December.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Motau adds that they also look forward to gauging their individual performances against a team with a similar style of player.

“I think the upcoming friendly will be key to help us build team culture. But it is also important to play a top team like Morocco, they are a very tactical side unlike the other teams who are always physical on us, they play much similar to us. We hope it all goes well so we can end the year with a win,” said Motau.

Banyana finished in the semifinals at the previous Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, this after failing to defend the title they won in 2022.

Motau says this year’s WAFCON was a learning curve for the team - as they go into the next one knowing exactly where to fix.

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“I think for us it is about failing forward. The team was in a transition period, where we had the core group and some new faces - that gave us some direction. We know what the team is capable of, it is a matter of putting in the work and making sure we achieve better in the next WAFCON,” added Motau.

The 2026 WAFCON will also serve as the FIFA World Cup qualifier and Motau wants to produce a good performance knowing that their main target is the ticket to the FIFA World Cup, taking place in Brazil next year.

“The last World Cup allowed us to build a base, now we know what to expect and we want to go and not just add numbers but compete. But we are aware that we need to perform well at the upcoming WAFCON to make sure that we book a spot in the FIFA World Cup. Both competitions are important to us,” she expressed.