‘Banyana players don’t lack hunger, despite Wafcon heartache’

Banyana’s unconvincing Wafcon run culminated in elimination at the hands of the hosts, Morocco, who beat them 2-1 in the quarterfinals at Rabat’s Moulay El Hassan Stadium on Saturday, qualifying for the World Cup in the process.

The defeat means South Africa will now have to win against either Malawi or Ghana in a contest for one of Caf’s two intercontinental playoff spots in Casablanca on Thursday to have a chance to qualify for next year’s global showpiece in Brazil.

Sixteen players of Banyana’s 26-member squad at this Wafcon were there when the team clinched the same competition in the same country for the first time in 2022. And most of those players were also part of the squad that made history by qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the next year.

This has prompted many to think that most of this squad now lack hunger, as they’ve achieved relatively great things in the past, calling for the team to be reshuffled if Banyana are to reclaim glory days.

Even so, Ramalepe, who’s one of the players who’s been in the team for years, has insisted that it’s not that they are no longer hungry, chalking up their decline to the evolution of the game on the continent.

“It’s not like we are not hungry. Football has changed; a lot of teams have improved. I think there are a lot of teams that are matching our level, and others have surpassed us,” Ramalepe said.

Banyana looked unconvincing from the word go at this tournament. They won just one of their three group stage games at this tournament, losing the opener 2-1 to minnows Tanzania, before drawing 2-2 against Ivory Coast in the second game. South Africa beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in their last pool stage game.

Ramalepe, 34, believes they can still qualify for the World Cup via the intercontinental playoffs. “What is required now is mental toughness. Not all is lost; we still have a chance, so we believe we can still go to the World Cup.”

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