9 June 2026 – Sasol Banyana Banyana Head Coach Dr Desiree Ellis has hailed her charges after they pulled off a great win, defeating a stubborn Japan 1-0 in an exciting international friendly match played at the J Green Sakai Field in Osaka on Tuesday.
This was the second match between the two nations in as many days, with the home team winning the first encounter 5-0 on Saturday (6 June 2026).
Midfielder Linda Motlhalo scored in the ninth minute of the game for what was to be the winner. This was her 25th goal in 99 appearances for her country. South Africa become the first African team to defeat Nadeshiko Japan, and ensured the hosts suffered their loss in a friendly international since 2013. It is also the first win for Dr Ellis’ charges in four meetings with the Asians – two losses, a draw and a win.
After the heavy loss on Tuesday, the Banyana Banyana technical team made three changes to the starting line-up, bringing on Kaylin Swart, Thembi Kgatlana and Bongeka Gamede for Andile Dlamini, Gabriela Salgado-Moodaly and Nonhlanhla Mthandi.
Japan, on the other hand, made 10 changes to their winning side. In an almost evenly contested match-up watched by, among others, the South African Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Peace Mabe, the 2022 African Champions gave as much as they got, emerging victorious despite some close shaves.
“The technical team put in a lot of work in preparation for this game, correcting where we needed to, and we also had a little bit of recovery from the jetlag. Big save from Kaylin (Swart) at the beginning of the match, and everybody put their bodies on the line, an unlikely header from Linda (Motlhalo) to give us the lead but a great build up to get us a corner that led to the goal. The whole group can be really proud of themselves after the result of the first game,” said an elated Dr Ellis.
“Today everybody was on the game, and we put them under pressure at times and to get a clean sheet is great. We learnt a lot from the first game, and we are not a finished product yet, but it will give a lot of confidence to the players and the entire team. Today showed what this team is really capable of, but we will continue with our preparations for WAFCON as this is all part of it. We still need to improve even more so that when we get to WAFCON, we are a better version of what we can be.”
Japan had several chances to put the game to bed, but the resilience of the South Africans denied them, with Swart giving a stelar performance to help Banyana Banyana to victory and a clean sheet.
“I am so proud, the girls put in everything. We worked so hard and I have to give credit to the coaches and the analyst – we really applied ourselves very well. It feels so good to do this against Japan, I have had to endure so much but give credit to the team for giving me confidence, these are tears of happiness. It’s overwhelming, it’s been a long time coming, I have had very work hard, and I just need to be more confident in myself,” said a teary-eyed Swart.
“I just want to continue helping the team where I can. I am just so happy we got the result today, Japan is number five in the world, and after the loss we needed to focus on ourselves, this is great for the team. We should not look at this result and think we have made it, we should continue working hard.”
There were double celebrations on the day with captain Refiloe Jane running out for her 150 appearances in a national team jersey, joining the ranks of the now retired Janine van Wyk, Noko Matlou and Mpumelelo Nyandeni – the only four footballers in South Africa to 150 caps for the country.
The Soweto-born Jane made her debut in 2012 away in Cyprus in the Cyprus Cup, and ranks winning the WAFCON in 2022 as her greatest highlight in Banyana Banyana colours.
“I am very excited to have reached 150 caps for Banyana Banyana. It feels so heavy, but I am very happy and humbled by the journey to get to where I am. It was not easy and still going to be difficult going forward. There is a lot coming ahead, and now we are preparing for the WAFCON. It has been an interesting journey, full of ups and downs, having to come from injuries and rejoining the team. My first cap was against Cyprus away, and to have 150 away from home again is a great feeling. I get all the support from home, but above all, the support I get from the team is what has gotten me here and I am very happy for the opportunity given to me. Winning WAFCON stands out for me through this long journey,” said Jane.
“In terms of the game, it was very interesting, we made some corrections from the first game and we told ourselves that we will not return home with two losses. We played well for another, great saves from Kaylin and we made sure that things worked for us. What turned things around for us is that we stayed switched on throughout the game and stayed compact.”
Banyana Banyana are scheduled to fly out of Japan after the match and will land in South Africa on Wednesday afternoon around 16h30.
They return to camp next month in preparation for travelling to Morocco for the 2026 WAFCON, which is a FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier, with the top four nations to emerge from the tournament booking their tickets to Brazil in 2027.
The women’s continental football showpiece runs from 25 July to 17 August 2026.
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