BAFANA Bafana defender Diamond Thopola has warned against taking lowly ranked Guinea-Bissau and Angola lightly in their international friendlies.
Bafana first lock horns with the west Africans who are ranked 80 in the world and 19th on the continent on Saturday before turning their attention to neighbours, Angola on Tuesday.
Bafana are ranked 62 in the world and 13 in Africa.
The Guinea-Bissau game will be played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, while Safa will be taking Bafana to East London for the Angola clash for the first time since 2003.
The Angola game will be played at the Buffalo City Stadium (kick-off 7pm). The Southern Africans are ranked 147th in the world and 45th in Africa.
On paper at least, Bafana Bafana should have an easy day at the office against both sets of visitors.
But the Chippa United defender has warned against taking Angola lightly, saying rankings will count for nothing in the southern African derby.
“We take each game serious. We just have to go out there and give it our best shot. Most of the teams when they play against South Africa go all out because they always want to beat us.
“We are well aware of that. We have studied both opponents and know what to expect from them. We are more than ready for them,” said Thopola.
The Chilli Boys man has been called up to Bafana two times before but did not get an opportunity to play.
Yesterday, he was part of the team that did duty in the 1-0 win over Lamontville Golden Arrows in a warm-up game.
Speaking after the Arrows game, Thopola described the mood in camp as good. “The coaches have explained what they want from us. For us, these are not just friendly games because we are preparing ourselves for the bigger picture.
“We have to start now with these two friendly games to test ourselves on how ready we are on what we want to achieve. We will push very hard and give it our best,” he said.
Thopola said he hopes to be given a run and earn his first appearance for the national team.
“I would appreciate it if I could get a chance to play because I am familiar with the Bafana set-up now. It means a lot for me to be part of the national team.
“This means for me as a player, I am growing. I’ve been playing well in the PSL and doing well for my team, but it’s up to the coach if he plays me or not,” he said.
“But for me, just to be part of the national team – to me that means a lot. Given a chance or not, I will still push on my side. I am happy I received the chance to be part of the national team.”
The consequences of underestimating opponents was displayed when Bafana were stunned by 106 and 33 ranked in the world and Africa, Mauritania during a World Cup qualifier two years ago.
The 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winners are well aware that should they underestimate their opponents, they might come off second best.
This might result in Bafana slipping further down in Fifa rankings – something that the team is trying to avoid.
Chippa star fired up for Bafana dogfight
Bafana first lock horns with the west Africans who are ranked 80 in the world and 19th on the continent on Saturday before turning their attention to neighbours, Angola on Tuesday.
Bafana are ranked 62 in the world and 13 in Africa.
The Guinea-Bissau game will be played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, while Safa will be taking Bafana to East London for the Angola clash for the first time since 2003.
The Angola game will be played at the Buffalo City Stadium (kick-off 7pm). The Southern Africans are ranked 147th in the world and 45th in Africa.
On paper at least, Bafana Bafana should have an easy day at the office against both sets of visitors.
But the Chippa United defender has warned against taking Angola lightly, saying rankings will count for nothing in the southern African derby.
“We take each game serious. We just have to go out there and give it our best shot. Most of the teams when they play against South Africa go all out because they always want to beat us.
“We are well aware of that. We have studied both opponents and know what to expect from them. We are more than ready for them,” said Thopola.
The Chilli Boys man has been called up to Bafana two times before but did not get an opportunity to play.
Yesterday, he was part of the team that did duty in the 1-0 win over Lamontville Golden Arrows in a warm-up game.
Speaking after the Arrows game, Thopola described the mood in camp as good. “The coaches have explained what they want from us. For us, these are not just friendly games because we are preparing ourselves for the bigger picture.
“We have to start now with these two friendly games to test ourselves on how ready we are on what we want to achieve. We will push very hard and give it our best,” he said.
Thopola said he hopes to be given a run and earn his first appearance for the national team.
“I would appreciate it if I could get a chance to play because I am familiar with the Bafana set-up now. It means a lot for me to be part of the national team.
“This means for me as a player, I am growing. I’ve been playing well in the PSL and doing well for my team, but it’s up to the coach if he plays me or not,” he said.
“But for me, just to be part of the national team – to me that means a lot. Given a chance or not, I will still push on my side. I am happy I received the chance to be part of the national team.”
The consequences of underestimating opponents was displayed when Bafana were stunned by 106 and 33 ranked in the world and Africa, Mauritania during a World Cup qualifier two years ago.
The 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winners are well aware that should they underestimate their opponents, they might come off second best.
This might result in Bafana slipping further down in Fifa rankings – something that the team is trying to avoid.
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