South Africa's Banyana Banyana are heading home following a resounding 4-0 defeat against Germany in their last Group B Women's World Cup match at the Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier, France, on Monday night.
After starting on a positive note, South Africa were rattled by conceding two very poor goals and spent the rest of the first half in defensive mode.
They also struggled throughout to deal with Germany's set-pieces. While the second half performance was much improved, the South Africans lacked a finishing touch in front of goal.
Disappointed in the result YES, but extremely proud of the way we showed true character by fighting every single second on the field for each other. It's clear that we are closing gaps when it comes to competing against World Class teams with Pro leagues. Thanks for the Support🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/YFVuUMesQh
— Janine Van Wyk (@Janinevanwyk5) June 14, 2019
Germany achieved its goal of winning the group in style, registering a third clean-sheet in the process.
They also won a Women's World Cup group for the fifth consecutive time and avoided an immediate clash with the United States.
Germany topped Group B with a 3-0 record and will play a third-place team in their round of 16 match on Saturday at Grenoble.
The final standings... #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/Lckh7mCyAP
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) June 17, 2019
South Africa finished bottom of the group, losing all three matches, being outscored 8-1.
At 49th in the world, South Africa had the lowest ranking of the 24 teams in the tournament.