BAFANA Bafana have to overcome a massive mental block against Nigeria in Cape Town tomorrow, says one of the few men to have tasted victory over the Super Eagles, Shaun Bartlett.
Viewed in isolation, South Africa will go into the fixture confident of winning after their phoenix-like rise in Khartoum, Sudan, in the first Africa Cup of Nations group A qualifier last Friday.
New coach Shakes Mashaba’s lads delivered the most convincing away performance in years when they beat Sudan 3-0 – a transcendent moment when compared to recent African endeavours.
But the history between the two nations suggests that Bafana tend to scurry like schoolboys in the face of a playground bully when they come up against the old nemesis.
Bartlett, one of the scorers in Bafana’s only post- isolation victory against Nigeria – 2-1 at Ellis Park in 2004 – said a combination of individual belief and mental strength should form the base ingredients for success.
“Firstly, there has to be individual desire to go out and perform. Having witnessed what happened last Friday against Sudan, the team is well on track,” Bartlett said.
“It is always good to start any campaign with a win, especially away from home, and that will give the team a lot of confidence going into this game against Nigeria.
“There’s probably more of a mental block in the way than anything else.
“I’m hoping that the current squad can overcome that with the new coach Shakes Mashaba.
“The coach is with a group of players he’s worked with before and they know exactly what he wants from them.”
Nigeria embarrassed Bafana at the African Nations Championships held here in January this year – a 3-1 defeat that ousted the hosts early from the tournament and prompted Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula to call them “a bunch of losers”.
A new era is sweeping through and with it comes a front of positivity. Nonetheless what this crop can learn from the class of ’04, said Bartlett, is the desire to prove all doubters wrong.
“As the 2004 team, we needed to prove ourselves worthy and prove a lot of people wrong and that’s what we did,” he said.
“The motivation is always to prove that South Africa is still one of Africa’s super powers but we need to show that on the field.
“Nigeria always feel like they are the best team in Africa, whether they win trophies or not.
“ South Africa will always have their backs to the wall because of what we have in this country compared to the rest of Africa.”
Bafana look to break Super Eagles hoodoo
Viewed in isolation, South Africa will go into the fixture confident of winning after their phoenix-like rise in Khartoum, Sudan, in the first Africa Cup of Nations group A qualifier last Friday.
New coach Shakes Mashaba’s lads delivered the most convincing away performance in years when they beat Sudan 3-0 – a transcendent moment when compared to recent African endeavours.
But the history between the two nations suggests that Bafana tend to scurry like schoolboys in the face of a playground bully when they come up against the old nemesis.
Bartlett, one of the scorers in Bafana’s only post- isolation victory against Nigeria – 2-1 at Ellis Park in 2004 – said a combination of individual belief and mental strength should form the base ingredients for success.
“Firstly, there has to be individual desire to go out and perform. Having witnessed what happened last Friday against Sudan, the team is well on track,” Bartlett said.
“It is always good to start any campaign with a win, especially away from home, and that will give the team a lot of confidence going into this game against Nigeria.
“There’s probably more of a mental block in the way than anything else.
“I’m hoping that the current squad can overcome that with the new coach Shakes Mashaba.
“The coach is with a group of players he’s worked with before and they know exactly what he wants from them.”
Nigeria embarrassed Bafana at the African Nations Championships held here in January this year – a 3-1 defeat that ousted the hosts early from the tournament and prompted Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula to call them “a bunch of losers”.
A new era is sweeping through and with it comes a front of positivity. Nonetheless what this crop can learn from the class of ’04, said Bartlett, is the desire to prove all doubters wrong.
“As the 2004 team, we needed to prove ourselves worthy and prove a lot of people wrong and that’s what we did,” he said.
“The motivation is always to prove that South Africa is still one of Africa’s super powers but we need to show that on the field.
“Nigeria always feel like they are the best team in Africa, whether they win trophies or not.
“ South Africa will always have their backs to the wall because of what we have in this country compared to the rest of Africa.”
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