SA’s U17 women’s national team players must overcome the nerves that gripped them during the World Cup opening match against Mexico on Tuesday if they are to make an impression in the tournament. Coach Simphiwe Dludlu pointed out that Bantwana did not play their normal game during the goalless draw with the Mexicans‚ but she expects her players to be more confident when they take on Japan in the second match of the group on Friday. The match kicks off at 7pm (SA time). “We made it difficult for ourselves against Mexico because we were nervous. “I guess it was because we were playing in our first game of a major tournament like the World Cup‚” said Dludlu. “Our structure was not there for most parts of the game because they were afraid of making mistakes. “We were too cautious and our confidence tank was a bit too low to play when we had the ball. Even the players who have more than five caps were nervous‚” said Dludlu. “Playing on the world stage is different from playing friendly m...
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