It goes without saying that South Africa are behind Banyana Banyana in their Fifa Women’s World Cup endeavours, but they also have the support of an English football legend.
Banyana take on Argentina at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Friday at 2am SA time, and need a good result after going down to Sweden in their first game of the World Cup.
Since the match will be played during the wee hours of the morning, only the most hardened SA supporters will set their alarms and give Banyana the ‘live support’ they seek.
One person who will not need to set his alarm, will be former Arsenal striker legend Ian Wright who is in New Zealand for the World Cup.
The retired-footballer now turned TV pundit wished Banyana well in a tweet on Wednesday, alongside a picture and video with coach Desiree Ellis.
All the best on Friday vs Argentina Coach 🇿🇦 @descaptain @Banyana_Banyana @FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/2ehjyPeAqy
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) July 26, 2023
Banyana are currently third in Group G following their opening defeat, on the same minus one goal difference as Argentina. Both Sweden and Italy are on three points.
The word legend is thrown around rather liberally these days when describing sporting celebrities, but that’s not the case when talking about Wright. Now aged 59, he made over 500 club appearances during his 15-year career which ran from 1985 to 2000.
He made a name for himself at Crystal Palace, notching up 222 appearances and 90 goals. That prompted a move to Arsenal where he spent the prime years of his career, representing The Gunners 221 times and scoring 128 goals. He also played for England on 33 occasions, which included nine strikes for his country.
IOL Sport