South Africa women's coach Desiree Ellis has described their international friendly against the United States as their most difficult match ahead of the 2019 Women's World Cup.
Banyana Banyana head to California on May 12 for their eighth warm-up game as they hope to refine their strategies for their debut outing in France.
While they are winless in their last seven matches in their pre-World Cup games, Banyana have not won against the world champions, having lost 1-0 in their last meeting in 2016.
Ellis, who will be hoping to pick her final squad for the Women's World Cup this summer, feels there is no tougher test than facing the Americans.
“It’s a huge moment for players when you get the opportunity to play against the number one-ranked team who are also the world champions," the 56-year-old gaffer told the media.
"You cannot ask for a tougher match to test yourself. We have played a few matches this year and did not get the desired results but each and every game showed an improvement.”
“It’s another opportunity to see where we are at just about a month away from the start of the 2019 World Cup. Make no mistake this will be our most difficult game thus far.
"It’s also the final opportunity for players to once again fight for their spots in the World Cup squad which we will announce soon after this match.”
South Africa have been drawn against Spain, China and Germany in Group B and will launch their maiden campaign against the Spaniards on June 8.
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