Ellis details 'extremely emotional' task of selecting final Banyana World Cup squad

Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis said the process of whittling down her 36-player training squad to the final 23 headed for the FIFA Women’s World Cup was “extremely emotional."

Ellis named the final 23-member Banyana side going to Australia and New Zealand for the biggest showpiece in women’s football starting 20 July.

Notable omissions included former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Thalea Smidt, UWC’s Amogelang Motau and former third-choice goalkeeper Regirl Ngobeni.

READ | Star forward Kgatlana makes cut as Ellis picks formidable Banyana Women's World Cup squad

The latter two (Motau and Ngobeni) were named as standby options alongside Nthabiseng Majiya, but Smidt missed out altogether despite being part of the 2022 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon).

"I’ll be honest, it was very difficult and stressful, not just for me but the players as well," said Ellis.

"But I wanted to give myself as much time as possible to make sure that I get the right squad. I waited until the very last minute, just to see some consistency.

"And then the hard part was calling the players in and saying they didn’t make it. It was emotional for them and for me because you become attached.

"They put in so much, but at the end of the day, I can only select 23, and that’s the hardest part. I just encouraged them to keep going because there are more competitions to come.

"We pray nothing happens, but you never know. And you have to be ready if anything happens."

Ellis said she tossed and turned over the final decision and took as much time as possible to make the right calls.

Unsurprisingly, Refiloe Jane was named Banyana captain, while star forward Thembi Kgatlana returned following an Achilles tendon tear in Morocco last year.

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