BAFANA Bafana head coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba may need to adopt a new motto – “boldness be a friend” – when he leads his charges against a fired-up Angola in their 2018 World Cup second round, first leg clash at the Ombaka National Stadium in Benguela today (4.30pm).
It’s vital Mashaba’s Bafana return with a win to take into the return leg at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium next Tuesday (7pm).
It would be a monumental disaster if Bafana failed at this hurdle. The winner goes into the final qualifying group stage of 20 teams to be split into five groups, with the five group winners qualifying for the world showpiece in Russia in 2018.
Losing to Angola in this two-legged tie is inconceivable. That would mean that Bafana would have to wait until 2022 for their next chance to play at a World Cup event.
Mashaba’s charges have blown hot and cold this year. They tend to do well in friendlies but fall down in official matches. Bafana have not won an official match in 2015.
They lost two and drew their other matches at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Equatorial Guinea in January.
Bafana drew at home to Gambia and then lost to “no-name brand” Mauritania 3-1 in the 2017 Afcon qualifiers.
The wins against Mauritius (two) and Angola (one) in the Championship of Africa Nations (Chan) qualifiers don’t count as official, as Chan is not recognised as an official tournament.
Mashaba said: “My mandate is to build a team for 2017 and 2018. There is a lot more at stake than pride.”
No comments:
Post a Comment