Banyana, who went down in Accra on Sunday, go into the competition looking to bag a maiden AFCON title, while they’ve also got a dream of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for the first time. The top three sides in the competition, which kicks off this weekend in Ghana, will qualify for the 2019 World Cup in France.
“Personally, I am really excited, something I have been looking forward to this whole year. We have been in and out of camp since January preparing for his moment. After the game against Ghana we know where we stand and what we need to improve on before our opening game [against Nigeria on Sunday]. I am really excited and the team is happy. We are looking forward to the start of the tournament,” Van Wyk told SAFA's website.
“It was a good challenge for us against the hosts, coming into conditions that are difficult to play in. But it’s something we are slowly adapting to. Looking at the game, we had some errors that we need to fix and touch up on. We created opportunities, but did not put the ball in the back of the net. We got into the hosts’ final third quite a lot, but need to make sure we put the ball in the back of the net to get some goals. We had one mistake that cost us a goal, from a set-piece. We also need to work on conceding from set-pieces. We’ve conceded goals in that area, but I think when we start we will be well and ready.”