Bafana shift focus to crunch Afcon match against Namibia
The Bafana Bafana camp has put the disappointment of losing their opening match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations this week to Mali behind them and they are now looking forward to the next assignment on the tournament calendar.
Coach Hugo Broos’s charges lost 0-2 to Mali on Tuesday (16 January) and will hope to bounce back from the setback when they face neighbours Namibia on Sunday, 21 January at the same Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium.
The players understand what is at stake on Sunday and what is expected of them, as midfielder Teboho Mokoena explained to www.safa.net.
“We know what we need to do better and what lies in front of us. It is not the start that we had wanted or set ourselves up for, but it is the result that we now have to stomach,” he said.
Sphephelo Sithole has cast his eye on the match against the Namibians and feels that a victory is a must to avoid putting pressure on the South African senior men’s team in a group that also has Mali, Tunisia and Namibia.
“I think the next game against Namibia is a must-win, we have to win it because a result means that our chances are better,” he said.
“So for me we have to win. For me we have to win every game.”
Namibia will go into this game against their neighbours on a high after beating Tunisa 1-0 on Tuesday.
Mokoena and Sithole commended the Confederation of African Football on their organisation of the tournament.
“So far we have been treated well. We have all we need to be comfortable away from home, and to focus solely on football,” said Sithole.
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