Banyana Banyana captain Refiloe Jane says their goal of qualifying for the Olympics remains alive ahead of their final-round qualifying clash against Nigeria.
Banyana will face the Super Falcons in a two-legged affair, with the first leg away in Abuja on Friday before the second leg back home at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria next Tuesday.
Jane says they know the clash against the 11-time Women’s Africa Cup of Nations winners will be extremely challenging, but she believes in Banyana’s capabilities.
''Though we've played Nigeria a couple of times, recently we won against them. We still give them the respect they deserve, they are still the undisputed African champions in theory, but we also look at the quality of our team and the strides we have made over the years, we will try and make sure we get a good result,'' said Jane.
Even though Nigeria has qualified for every Women’s World Cup since its inception in 1991, they have been inconsistent in the Olympic, having last played in the Games in Beijing 2008.
The Super Falcons also made it to the last 16 of last year’s World Cup alongside Banyana, and Jane knows how dangerous the West Africans can be on the field.
''Playing Nigeria is never easy, we just need to focus on the mandate and shutting out the noise will be key,'' added Jane.
Jane also adds she’s grateful to be back in the national team after a long-term injury she sustained during the World Cup in Australia/New Zealand.
''It feels good to be back with the team, it's been a long recovery journey. Now we focus on the mandate to qualify for the Olympics,'' she concluded.
The humidity in Abuja already forced CAF to move the game from 16:00 to 17:00, and Jane praised the South African Football Association for making sure they travel to Nigeria timeously so they could get used to the weather.
