Dlamini: All of Africa will be expecting big things from us

• South Africa are preparing for their second FIFA Women’s World Cup

• Banyana Banyana have been drawn in Group G with Sweden, Italy and Argentina

• Goalkeeper Andile Dlamini talks about her key role in helping them qualify and their goals in Australia and New Zealand

It would be easy and, quite frankly, lazy to look back on South Africa’s debut FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2019 – with three games played and three lost – purely as a failure.

Banyana Banyana have done anything but dropped their heads, sulking in ‘what could have beens’, and instead have built on that maiden World Cup experience. A first-ever CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title last July is the ultimate evidence of that.

One member of the team that was central to that achievement was Andile Dlamini, who was voted the tournament’s best goalkeeper. A South African Sports Star of the Year award would follow to fully cement her status as a national heroine.

There was, therefore, no better player to catch up with than the 30-year-old from Thembisa as the biggest Women’s World Cup yet draws ever closer.

The concept of Ubuntu means giving praise to the next person when they do good, shaking your opponents’ hands after a match, whether you’ve lost or won. Even on the field of play, especially with us soccer players, when you’ve done something wrong, apologise, you know, even to the referee because they also make mistakes. They’re human. Allow people to be human because we’re not perfect. And also see where you can help out. That’s the spirit of Ubuntu.

So at the 2019 France World Cup, we lost all three matches, but we gained so much experience, the experience was amazing. The first game we were in control for quite some minutes and we were even to be able to score. That was just amazing, it meant so much to us, and we are capable of doing more. It was our first experience. We would have loved to win all our games, but it wasn’t meant for us that time. It was just God saying, ‘Just go there, perform to the best of your abilities. Just show the world what you’re capable of.’ And so many players got chosen to play overseas, which is incredible. I think this upcoming World Cup will also give an opportunity to all of us to showcase our talents and showcase what South Africans are capable of.

The big lesson we learned from the first World Cup is to take our chances. Also, we need to play more compact and not lose discipline on the field of play. We need to understand that the World Cup is not the same as any other level.

I like calling it AFCON because we are all equal to the African Cup of Nations. That’s it. You know, it was just amazing. We were playing for the generation that paved the way for us and just to make the dream come true for everyone, even the youngsters, to say it is possible again to become African champions. It was just amazing. Everyone was united. We had this different feel in camp, and even if you were to ask someone else right now, they would tell you that feel was just different. It was just on another level. That’s the feeling we need to keep with going to the World Cup because if you have that unity and bond and nothing comes between you, nothing will distract you. We had that, and that’s why we won the African Cup of Nations.

And for me, I think it is rather great for us to do that because we wanted to show South Africa most of all that women are taking over and women are serious about what they do and women need to be taken seriously in the country. So that was just a fantastic moment and Banyana Banyana did South Africa proud. We did ourselves proud, our families, the young ones, everyone, and the welcome we received as well at the South African airport was just amazing.

Bambanani and Karabo are fantastic players who stay concentrated and create goals. And they are team players most of all. That’s what I love about them. They take instructions quite well, although I demand a lot from them sometimes. They’re capable of showcasing their talent to the world and making sure that everyone sees them.

I wish them nothing but the best and everyone else in the defence, because defence doesn’t only start at the back – it starts at the front. It’s very important for us to understand that it starts from the strikers, so when you keep a clean sheet, it’s not only us defenders. Yes, we give credit to ourselves because we are the last line of defence, but the strikers do an important role as well in pushing openings wherever we want them to push them. It was incredible for us to keep those clean sheets. Goalkeepers don’t like being scored on. I don’t know any goalkeeper that likes being scored on, and it’s incredible that we’re all aligned.

Firstly, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. She game me an opportunity and she challenged me. She once said to me, ‘Do you want to be a second choice forever? You need to go and work on this and that.’ I worked on it and here I am. She game me a fair chance and I think she just changed how football is in South Africa. We’ve been doing great under her supervision, and I think she and her technical team deserves a round of applause for their hard work.

I think it’s very, very important to create a family bond and coach Dez has created that. When players want to play for you, it’s because you have created that bond and you understand that I’m your mother and you are my kids. We all make mistakes and we all do a whole lot of things. But every player wants to be happy, and with Banyana Banyana, we are happy.

Sweden, Italy and Argentina: they are great teams that do wonders and they are supported in their countries. They play professionally. I think they’re tough opponents, but we are also there for a reason. This is our second time and anything is possible when it’s 11 v 11 on that field of play. It is going to be a tough one, but we are also ready for it.

Yes, there’s obviously pressure because now Africa is looking to see great a result from us. Not only our country in South Africa, but all of Africa because we are African champions. We go out there understanding that we are going to compete with everyone at the same level.

Source:FIFA