Bafana still have much to play for

BAFANA Bafana may be out of the running to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, but they do not want to end their campaign with another humiliating result against Mauritania in group M.

Bafana were left shell-shocked by a 3-1 defeat to the Mauritanians in Nouakchott on artificial turf last year and will face the same team in their final group match at Mbombela Stadium on Friday, starting at 7pm.

Duly punished by the Mauritanians the last time, Bafana were eager to settle the score and finish the campaign with a good result that they could build on, defender Thulani Hlatshwayo said.

The Bidvest Wits captain is back in the national squad after recovering from a hip injury, which kept him out of Bafana’s last qualifier against Gambia.

He also missed the defeat to Mauritania last year due to a groin injury, but is now keen to deliver.

Hlatshwayo is likely to play alongside Rivaldo Coetzee with Mulomowandau Mathoho out on injury.

On the back of scoring the winning goals against Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates for his club last week, Hlatshwayo goes into the Mauritania game with his confidence high.

“It feels good to be back in the Bafana team,” he said.

“With my injury, the coach has kept faith in me by selecting me before we even play the first games of the new season. I watched the game [against Mauritania] and I saw what happened,” Hlatshwayo said.

“They are a skilful side and we need to be aware. We need to be focused this time round.”

Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba has included a few under-23 players who were at the Olympics in Rio.

Olympic players Gift Motupa, Abbubaker Mobara, Aubrey Modiba, Deolin Mekoa and Thapelo Morena will want to impress the coach, to be part of the Bafana team for the upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Hlatshwayo, who praised the inclusion of the U23 players, said: “It’s good for Safa’s vision 2022.

“We need to make sure we get a good result, because we are preparing for the World Cup qualifiers.”