Bafana are back
Big blow as Zungu, Jali suspended for Senegal games. BAXTER’S MEN HIT STRAPS AT HOME
Stuart Baxter believes Bafana Bafana can “sneak in through the back door,” and make a miraculous late surge to qualify for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.
South Africa produced a tremendous performance on Saturday to beat Burkina Faso 3-1 at the FNB Stadium, and keep their hopes of winning Group D alive. It was a display full of attacking verve, in stark contrast to the insipid performances that saw Bafana lose twice to Cape Verde in September.
Senegal’s victory in Cape Verde later on Saturday means the mathematics are now simple – if Bafana can beat Senegal homeand-away next month they will be on the plane to Russia. If they cannot, they will not.
Bafana are set to play the Teranga Lions in Polokwane on November 10, almost exactly a year after they beat Senegal at the same venue – Fifa have ordered a replay of that match after banning Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey for life for match manipulation at the Peter Mokaba Stadium. The two sides will then face off again in Senegal on November 14.
“We will take every chance,” said Baxter after the win over Burkina Faso.
“If we can knock Senegal over here, we will take it to the wire. We can put the pressure on everyone else, we are the ones now that maybe can sneak in through the back door, they have pressure on them, they don’t want to throw it away, I am going to use that with the players, to tell them ‘take that last chance.’”
There were fine performances throughout the Bafana side on Saturday, notably from Man-ofthe-Match Percy Tau in attack, who got the ball rolling after just 48 seconds when his header went in off the post, the officials ruling the ball had crossed the line, despite the efforts of Burkinabe goalkeeper Herve Koffi.
Tau also provided a superb back-heel assist for Bafana’s third goal, and showed that he could just be the man to lead the line again against Senegal. Baxter, however, was cautious in his praise for the Sundowns forward.
“Percy is talented, and there is a lot more to come but I am a bit loth, on the back of one performance, to start putting Percy on a pedestal, he has a lot of work to do,” said Baxter.
“He is a great lad and wants to learn and will get better, I am delighted to have him in our squad, and I am sure he will be an asset to South Africa … he on the right track but someone said to me when I was younger, ‘you are on the right track, but keep going or you will get hit by a train’. I think that is where he is at. Keep going, Percy.”
Bafana have suspension worries ahead of the Senegal games, with midfielder Bongani Zungu likely to miss both games after his red card on Saturday. Andile Jali, meanwhile, who excelled in a role just behind Tau on Saturday, will miss the Polokwane game through suspension, after picking up another yellow card against Burkina Faso.