WAFCON: South Africa will not play for a point against Mali – Ellis

South Africa women’s national team head coach Dr Desiree Ellis has revealed her desire to top their Group C at TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) when they face Mali in their final fixture at the Honneur Stadium in Oujda, Morocco.

The African champions remained on track to defend their WAFCON title after they secured a place in the quarterfinals of the tournament without kicking a ball on Saturday. Morocco’s 1-0 defeat against Senegal 1-0, and Zambia’s 1-0 result against DR Congo, enabled South Africa to qualify for the last eight.

Ahead of their fixture against Mali, who can finish top if they win the game, Ellis has stressed the importance of not playing for a draw.

“We can get a point, but I think to play for a point is very dangerous. As long as I can remember, when we needed a draw, we’ve never gone to play for a point because you get caught, I’ve seen it happen to big teams. I don’t know what year it was but Benni McCarthy at Porto, Man United needing a draw and losing it right at the end and so we’re not that kind of team that will take it out of our hands,” said Ellis as quoted by SAFA Media.

“Not sure what they (Mali) are going to do, obviously we’ll see when the game starts how they set up, whether they sit deep or whether they come. But we have it in our hands to top the group, so we want to make sure that we win the game.”

South African have won one, and drawn one of their opening two fixtures.