Jali could be given captain’s armband for Bafana’s Swazi date

BAFANA BAFANA will tonight play their first match since their failure to progress to the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea when they take on Swaziland in a friendly at Somhlolo Stadium in Mbabane.

And coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba would love nothing more than to see his team display the kind of performance that had the country expecting them to win the continental showpiece following a nearperfect qualification process. “We’re going to put up our best team against Swaziland,” Mashaba said before the squad left for the Swazi capital yesterday morning.

“We need to first start by being champions in our region before we go out to con- quer the continent. Swaziland was our first option for a friendly because we also need to contribute to the growth of the game in our region.” Having previously coached Swaziland, Mashaba has some idea of what the opposition will be like.

And without being condescending, the Bafana coach admitted that the neighbours do not pose too much of a threat. “I’ve been in contact with their technical director and from our discussions and my experience I know they don’t have depth (like South Africa does) and they are very limited. But that does not mean we should underestimate them.”

With the match to be played on an astroturf pitch, Mashaba says the surface should not be an issue for his side. “We told the boys that you’ve got to be ready to play on every surface, after all in a short time the rest of Africa will be playing on Astroturf (Fifa are installing these pitches all over the continent). These kind of fields are easy to maintain because they don’t need a lot of watering.”

Mashaba will once again persist with his policy of rotating the captaincy, the coach saying he would rather have more leaders on the pitch than just one.

With Dean Furman excused from the match due to commitment at his English Championship club Doncaster Rovers, his midfield partner Andile Jali might be given the leadership role.

Former captain Itumeleng Khune is also back in the squad and could also be considered, although Mashaba hinted at Wits’ Thulani Hlatshwayo. “What is pleasing me is the fact that even the clubs are giving more players the chance to lead the teams. Look at Wits, they have now made Tyson (Hlatshwayo) the captain and that is good for us because we will have more players who are used to being leaders.

The match against Swaziland will be followed by a much tougher clash against Nigeria and Hlatshwayo is particularly looking ahead to taking on the Super Eagles having missed a second-round qualifier in Uyo against them.

“As a footballer, you want to play every game of the national team as long as you get a call-up. So having to miss the game in Uyo due to suspension was not a lovely thing – especially considering the fact that in the first leg I played very well and was denied a chance to score.

“But before we get to Mbombela for the Nigeria clash we have to deal with Swaziland.”