HOW things have changed for Bafana Bafana. They’ve gained some respect on the continent and that was evident yesterday when some of the Nigerians greeted the visiting players with a little fear in their voices.
Bafana boarded a plane to Uyo on Monday with no pressure whatsoever ahead of today’s clash against African champions Nigeria at Akwa Ibom Stadium.
A place at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea has been booked and it’s Nigeria who find themselves in a desperate situation, needing to get a win at all costs against an unbeaten Bafana side to have a shot at defending their title. Bafana are guaranteed a top-place finish in group A, but they are not treating their trip to Nigeria as a holiday.
Coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba’s boys are determined to finish the campaign without a defeat, and there is a need to finally get the monkey off their backs by beating Nigeria for the first time in a competitive match.
“We have to be professional,” Bafana defender Rivaldo Coetzee said yesterday. “We can’t just come here and play the game because we have to. We have qualified, but we want to change the history of our country and we want to beat Nigeria. We have never beaten them. We are going out there to get maximum points. They are under pressure and they will come at us strong, but we are ready.” Coetzee, who has featured in Bafana’s last three matches in the qualifiers, says it’s easier to play teams away from home because they open up in defence. Bafana have beaten Sudan and Congo away from home in group A.
“When teams play at home, they open up because they want to score goals. They leave gaps and that’s when we take advantage. “When we are at home, the away team sits back and they just defend,” Coetzee said.
The 18-year-old Ajax Cape Town defender has urged his teammates to convert chances they create. Bafana let Nigeria off the hook when they met in Cape Town in September.
“We have been working on our finishing. We have to be more clinical in front of goal. We create a lot of chances, but we do not convert as much as we should. We have to make sure that we convert and get them on the back foot.”
Bafana are on top of group A on 11 points, while Nigeria are on seven along with Congo, who play Sudan. The Bafana players, who are in the same hotel as the Nigerian players, were due to have their first training session at Akwa Ibom Stadium last night.
A win is all Bafana plan for
Bafana boarded a plane to Uyo on Monday with no pressure whatsoever ahead of today’s clash against African champions Nigeria at Akwa Ibom Stadium.
A place at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea has been booked and it’s Nigeria who find themselves in a desperate situation, needing to get a win at all costs against an unbeaten Bafana side to have a shot at defending their title. Bafana are guaranteed a top-place finish in group A, but they are not treating their trip to Nigeria as a holiday.
Coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba’s boys are determined to finish the campaign without a defeat, and there is a need to finally get the monkey off their backs by beating Nigeria for the first time in a competitive match.
“We have to be professional,” Bafana defender Rivaldo Coetzee said yesterday. “We can’t just come here and play the game because we have to. We have qualified, but we want to change the history of our country and we want to beat Nigeria. We have never beaten them. We are going out there to get maximum points. They are under pressure and they will come at us strong, but we are ready.” Coetzee, who has featured in Bafana’s last three matches in the qualifiers, says it’s easier to play teams away from home because they open up in defence. Bafana have beaten Sudan and Congo away from home in group A.
“When teams play at home, they open up because they want to score goals. They leave gaps and that’s when we take advantage. “When we are at home, the away team sits back and they just defend,” Coetzee said.
The 18-year-old Ajax Cape Town defender has urged his teammates to convert chances they create. Bafana let Nigeria off the hook when they met in Cape Town in September.
“We have been working on our finishing. We have to be more clinical in front of goal. We create a lot of chances, but we do not convert as much as we should. We have to make sure that we convert and get them on the back foot.”
Bafana are on top of group A on 11 points, while Nigeria are on seven along with Congo, who play Sudan. The Bafana players, who are in the same hotel as the Nigerian players, were due to have their first training session at Akwa Ibom Stadium last night.
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