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- Banyana suffered a 2-0 defeat against the Netherlands in the FIFA Women's World Cup round of 16 on Sunday.
- Head coach Desiree Ellis says her players can keep their heads held up high as they exceeded expectations.
- The target for Banyana now is the next World Cup in 2027, which SAFA is contesting to host.
Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis says South Africa will be beaming with pride at the national team despite their heartbreaking FIFA Women's World Cup round of 16 defeat to the Netherlands on Sunday.
AS IT HAPPENED | Banyana Banyana 0-2 Netherlands
Goals from Jill Roord in ninth minute and Lineth Beerensteyn midway through the second half ended Banyana's fairytale tournament at Sydney's Allianz Arena in front of a capacity 40 000-strong crowd.
Banyana had defeated Italy 3-2 in their final Group G clash on Wednesday to book their place in the knockout rounds and become the first South African national soccer side to achieve that feat.
But Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar, who was the official player of the match, was in superb form, saving seven shots, four coming from Banyana superstar Thembi Kgatlana.
"I can only tell you one thing - if their goalkeeper gets player of the match what does that tell you? Once again, we created chances and made errors at critical stages," Ellis said during her post-match interview.
"But I am very proud of these players. They gave their all today. They know that they were in the game and that is what we said: We are going to come here and put up a fight.
"In the second half, the legs ran out, the tiredness and fatigue sunk in but we still tried to create a few opportunities. South Africa can be very proud of this team.
"When we came the first time to the World Cup [in 2019], we said that we definitely want to come back. And now, we definitely want to come back [again]. I think this team has grown and matured."
READ | Brave Banyana downed by Dutch as World Cup fairytale ends
The South African Football Association (SAFA) is contesting the bid to host the 2027 Women's World Cup, with the final decision tol be confirmed by FIFA early next year.
Banyana, ranked 54th, had exceeded expectations at the jointly-hosted tournament in Australia and New Zealand, which is the ninth edition of the Women's World Cup.
Ellis's charges were locked and pinned in the so-called "group of death", which had the likes of Sweden (3rd), Argentina (28th) and Italy (16th).
The Netherlands, who were the 2019 World Cup runners up, will now face Spain in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Banyana will return to South Africa early next week, with their arrival to be confirmed in due course.
