Cgatlana was happy to see her team keep a clean sheet against a Costa Rican side ranked (36) higher than Banana (54) in the FIFA rankings. Costa Rica will also compete in the World Cup where they are in Group C alongside Spain, Japan and Zambia.
“First a clean sheet overall for Kaelin (goalkeeper Swart) and the rest of the team because we didn’t concede and also how we dominated the game from the start. I think the coaches should be happy with the performance because the players are happy with what we did today.
“There’s no time to slack off, every once in a while is the time to learn and I think it would be great for everyone to go back to the drawing board and see what we could have done better and keep building from there.”
Baniana did not have the best preparations for their second World Series appearance with them fighting for better payday derailing their plans. But Cgatlana thanked the fans for their encouragement since the players arrived in New Zealand, where they will face Argentina (28 July) and Italy (2 August) in the other group matches.
“Thank you to everyone who is supporting Baniana,” said the 27-year-old striker.
“We feel the love even though we are so far from home. I know the time zones are going to be tough (different) but having you guys stay up and watch us encourages us to keep moving forward in the tournament.”
Cgatlana scored the only goal for Banana when he made his debut in the 2019 World Cup in France.
TimesLIVE