South Africa were handed a fair path to the 2017 African Nations Cup finals after being drawn against Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions as well as minnows Gambia and Mauritius in the 2017 African Nations Cup qualifiers, which get under way in mid-year.
Bafana will begin their campaign on June 13 at home to Gambia and then go away to Mauritius on the first weekend of September.
The crunch game with Cameroon will be played back-to-back next year with South Africa away first on March 24 and home just days later on March 28 or 29.
The last two qualifiers are away against Gambia on June 5 2016 and home to Mauritius on September 3 2016.
Former Bafana goalkeeper and analyst Andre Arendse said he believes national coach Shakes Mashaba should be pleased at the draw.
“Cameroon don’t even scare me in that group. And I know they’re one of the top African football countries,” said Arendse.
“But I’m looking at our record against them, and our recent performances, and who we can potentially take on from an African perspective. It’s really a group that wouldn’t scare me at all, and in fact I’d be more than delighted if I were Shakes Mashaba.
“You’re not travelling to overly hostile places. And that’s important to know because it plays a big part in your campaign.”
South Africa avoided the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.
Arendse pointed out the group could certainly have been worse, using 2013 champions Nigeria as an example, who were drawn in Group G with powerhouse Egypt. He also pointed out Bafana were able to eliminate the Super Eagles in the qualifiers for this year’s Afcon in Equatorial Guinea.
Cameroon, like Bafana, had a poor Nations Cup in January, ending bottom of their group to be eliminated in the group stages. They were, however, undefeated in the qualifiers from a group that included Ivory Coast and DR Congo.
“Our last Afcon showing should be an indicator of where we stand, and who we should be scared of. And there is no one we should be scared of.”
Arendse, who played in Gabon with Bafana, believes the country can put on a good tournament.
“Countries like that have really come on in leaps and bounds in terms of infrastructure, support structures, accommodation and things like that.”
Yesterday’s draw in a Cairo hotel ballroom saw South Africa placed outside of the top seeds after Gabon was named as the host of the 2017 finals, winning the vote ahead of Algeria and Ghana.
South Africa were the last of the countries pulled out of the pot of second seeds and had to wait right until the last name was drawn to find out the full identity of their group.
The winners of the 13 groups qualify for the finals in January 2017 along with the two best runners-up.
A record total of 52 countries entered the preliminaries. Only Eritrea and Somalia are absent.
Zimbabwe, banned from the 2018 World Cup preliminaries, are entered for the Nations Cup.
Great Nations potluck for Bafana
Bafana will begin their campaign on June 13 at home to Gambia and then go away to Mauritius on the first weekend of September.
The crunch game with Cameroon will be played back-to-back next year with South Africa away first on March 24 and home just days later on March 28 or 29.
The last two qualifiers are away against Gambia on June 5 2016 and home to Mauritius on September 3 2016.
Former Bafana goalkeeper and analyst Andre Arendse said he believes national coach Shakes Mashaba should be pleased at the draw.
“Cameroon don’t even scare me in that group. And I know they’re one of the top African football countries,” said Arendse.
“But I’m looking at our record against them, and our recent performances, and who we can potentially take on from an African perspective. It’s really a group that wouldn’t scare me at all, and in fact I’d be more than delighted if I were Shakes Mashaba.
“You’re not travelling to overly hostile places. And that’s important to know because it plays a big part in your campaign.”
South Africa avoided the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.
Arendse pointed out the group could certainly have been worse, using 2013 champions Nigeria as an example, who were drawn in Group G with powerhouse Egypt. He also pointed out Bafana were able to eliminate the Super Eagles in the qualifiers for this year’s Afcon in Equatorial Guinea.
Cameroon, like Bafana, had a poor Nations Cup in January, ending bottom of their group to be eliminated in the group stages. They were, however, undefeated in the qualifiers from a group that included Ivory Coast and DR Congo.
“Our last Afcon showing should be an indicator of where we stand, and who we should be scared of. And there is no one we should be scared of.”
Arendse, who played in Gabon with Bafana, believes the country can put on a good tournament.
“Countries like that have really come on in leaps and bounds in terms of infrastructure, support structures, accommodation and things like that.”
Yesterday’s draw in a Cairo hotel ballroom saw South Africa placed outside of the top seeds after Gabon was named as the host of the 2017 finals, winning the vote ahead of Algeria and Ghana.
South Africa were the last of the countries pulled out of the pot of second seeds and had to wait right until the last name was drawn to find out the full identity of their group.
The winners of the 13 groups qualify for the finals in January 2017 along with the two best runners-up.
A record total of 52 countries entered the preliminaries. Only Eritrea and Somalia are absent.
Zimbabwe, banned from the 2018 World Cup preliminaries, are entered for the Nations Cup.
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