To qualify for the World Cup, Bantwana must beat Kenya by a margin of at least three goals, a challenge Khumalo acknowledges will be very difficult.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of Bantwana’s final training session at the Nyayo National Stadium, the experienced tactician outlined what her team must do to secure qualification.
“We need to be at our best in the final third. We have worked on our conversion of chances because we did not score even a single goal despite creating numerous chances in the first leg,” said Khumalo.
Khumalo, who guided South Africa to the 2024 CAF African Schools Football Championship title, also called on her defence to remain alert.
“Additionally, we conceded easy goals and must therefore play with discipline and compactness to shut down the Kenyan attackers,” she added.
Despite the difficult task ahead, Khumalo expressed confidence in her team’s ability to overturn the deficit.
“We really need to be concentrated throughout the match because the first leg was not good enough from us and we therefore have to win by a bigger margin in order to make it to the World Cup.
Most of my girls are from the U15 setup and therefore have international experience. This is a different stage, but I have faith in them to do well,” she noted.
