South Africa Women’s National Team Coach Desiree Ellis has revealed that she is emotionally drained after announcing her final 23-member squad for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Ellis announced the squad consisting of the majority of the triumphant group that won the 2022 Africa Cup in Morocco.
“Very emotional, very taxing. It takes me a while to get over it……… Because I can see the disappointment,” explained Ellis as quoted by SABC Sport. “I can see the hurt, I can see that ‘My dream is over’ [expression].”
The Banyana Banyana will be led by Refiloe Jane who is replacing the retiring Janine Wyk.
Ellis stated that despite the selection process being the hardest task in her coaching career, she has no choice.
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“I have to do it, and for me, I say, you can’t be a coach and not care – and that [chopping players] for me is the hardest part because you know that they’ve put in so much, but also maybe there’s just someone that put in more.”
“I can only select [based] on what I see, but it’s been the most taxing for me. I’ve been up… Sometimes I wake up [in the middle of the night] and go to my laptop, and I look again and I put the formations down, with players’ names, just to make 100 percent sure,” concluded the three-time CAF Coach of the Year and 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations winner.
South Africa is in Group G, which also includes Argentina, Italy, and Sweden. They are one of four African countries that will compete in the Women’s World Cup, along with Zambia, Nigeria, and Morocco.
