Pretoria - Banyana Banyana will use their international friendly against Zimbabwe on 22 December as part of their preparations for their 2011 campaign which includes key London 2012 Olympic qualifying fixtures.
In announcing the 18-player national squad that will travel to Harare, Banyana Banyana coach Augustine Makalakalane has assured that the term 'international friendly' exists on paper only.
"Players take to the field to try and win every game, and while we will learn many lessons which will stand us in good stead ahead of next year's Olympic qualifying campaign, a win in our final match of 2010, will be the perfect way to finish off what has been a hectic 2010 year of women's football," he said.
Makalakalane must have been impressed with the form shown by some of the national squad players during Sasol League Road Show action held on the West Rand last weekend, and has requested all of the Banyana players to stay in top shape over the festive season.
"After the trip to Zimbabwe, Banyana will travel to play Zambia in the away leg of the Olympic qualifiers in mid-January before hosting the Zambians in Durban in the return match on January 29, so there is not a lot of time for conditioning over the next few weeks, hence our call for the players to be responsible and to keep training hard during the break," he said.
Russian-based attacking midfielder Nompumelelo Nyandeni has been included in the national squad after a superb season for her club Rossiyank.
Her club's commitments in Champions League action prevented her from representing the Banyana at the CAF African Women Championship South Africa.
CAF African Women's Player of the Year Noko Matlou will be looking to return to goal-scoring form, while defender Janine van Wyk who was named as the Banyana Player of the Year at the SAFA Awards last week will be out to show the same sort of confidence and skill that made her a crowd favourite during the African showpiece event.
Seventeen-year-old Cape Town Roses FC striker, Jermaine Seoposenwe who was named as the Bantwana Player at the SAFA Awards, showed maturity well beyond her age during the CAF African Women Championship , and she will once again be out to help her Banyana team-mates finish 2010 on a winning note.
