Banyana Banyana striker Andisiwe Mgcoyi is confident the national women’s side will give a good account of themselves  against France when they meet in Sunday’s international friendly match in Reunion.

The Europeans are ranked third in the world and second on the UEFA rankings while South Africa are ranked fifth on the continent and 51st in the world.

Mgcoyi says playing against top nations can only do wonders for the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana. ‘This game is good for us because France are up there with the best, and playing against them will really help our game improve even more.

‘Some of the players in the current Banyana Banyana squad faced New Zealand, USA and the Netherlands, and you could see how that helped lift their performance at the Olympics in Brazil where they also played other big guns like Brazil, Sweden and China.

‘So this game is really crucial for us to try and improve as much as we can. We know it won’t be easy but we are up for the task,’ said Mgcoyi after their training session in Johannesburg.

The Mamelodi Sundowns striker missed out on the Olympics but was part of the squad in Cameroon for the 2016 CAF Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.

Mgcoyi admits that lack of goals at the tournament was their downfall. ‘After the AWCON, where we finished fourth, I think mainly because we didn’t score goals. I went back home and had a good look at my performance.

‘If you think about it, at the Sasol League games I score many goals and I asked myself what could be the reason. The fact is the standard of the league and international matches is very different, but we can’t use that as an excuse, we have to work harder until we get it right,’ added Mgcoyi.

‘We play well in the national team but don’t convert our chances, which is something we have been focusing on. As a striker I have to score goals because that’s the job I have been called up for – and we must remember that scoring goals starts at training and then it will be easier in the games, so it’s all work in progress. But we’re confident we’ll get a good result against France.’

The national women’s team will have their final training session on home soil on Wednesday, before jetting off to Reunion on Thursday.

Sunday’s match (7pm kick-off) will be the second meeting between the two nations – France won the first clash 3-2 back in 2009.