1 October 2017 – South African U20 Women’s National Team goalkeeper, Mapaseka “Maps” Mpuru is looking at continuing in her fine form that has seen Basetsana keep two consecutive clean sheets in the last two matches. The hard working shot stopper who plays her football at the High-Performance Centre says that keeping a clean sheet in the early stages of the qualifiers will help boost her and the team’s confidence when they face stiffer competition in the next stage of the qualifiers.

Basetsana are in Namibia for their return leg fixture against the Young Gladiators after an impressive 5-0 thrashing handed to their opponents at the Dobsonville Stadium a fortnight ago. With a comfortable away result, Basetsana are in a very good position to move into the next round which will be against Burundi after Rwanda pulled out of the qualifiers.

“We have done well so far as a team and I am also satisfied with my performance as a goalkeeper” says the 19-year-old matriculant from Ga-khunwana, Mahikeng.

“There is good unity amongst us goalkeepers, the defenders and entire team. We ensure that we fight for one another and strive to keep things neat and tidy at the back and this motivates the rest of the team to get goals. The aim is for us to keep clean sheets all the time however we know that this won’t be easy and we need to remain focused and dedicated to achieve this goal”.

Basetsana had their final training session at the Sam Nojuma stadium this on Saturday afternoon to adjust to the astro turf pitch.

The squad has a clean bill of health with the exception right wing, Lalona Daweti who strained her right quadricep muscle during training earlier in the week.

Kick off at the Sam Nojuma stadium is at 15h00 local time.-SAFA WEBSITE.