Tau backs SA to get the job done
BAFANA Bafana vice-captain Percy Tau has backed the team to claim the much-needed three points when they host neighbours Zimbabwe in the penultimate round of the World Cup qualifiers at FNB Stadium today (9pm kick-off).
Ahead of the two final matches in the group stage of the qualifiers, Bafana have their fate in their own hands. They are top of Group G with 10 points, four away from ensuring that they finish top of the group and qualify for the next round.
But that’s easier said than done. They’ll meet a familiar Zimbabwean side that has nothing to lose, while Ghana still have a shot at qualifying for the next round as they are second, one point behind Bafana, who’ll visit them on Sunday.
However, a win for Bafana tonight and a loss for Ghana against Ethiopia earlier in the day could means that the South Africans will progress to the play-off round, where only five nations will qualify for the World Cup in Qatar next year.
Tau and company are not willing to leave anything to chance though. Knowing that the odds favour Ghana against Ethiopia, they are hell bent on doing their bit against the Warriors tonight, as then they’ll just need a point away at the Cape Coast.
“We are looking forward to the game against Zimbabwe. We know that it’s not going to be easy, but the group has done well in the four games. And we now want to do better and better. I am confident in the group,” Tau said.
Bafana have restructured, integrating new players under the guidence of coach Hugo Broos, but there are senior players such as Tau and captain Ronwen Williams who’ve endured the pain of losing control of their fate at the death.
In their last game of the 2020 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Bafana failed to beat Sudan away and ultimately lost out on a spot in the finals. Former coach Molefi Ntseki was fired as a result before Broos was assigned to rebuild the team.
“I think we cannot go back to the past. We can only go forward in the situation that we find ourselves in right now. The situations are different. We were in a race to qualify for Afcon but this one is for the World Cup,” Al Ahly talisman Tau said.
It is seniors such as Tau who’ll be responsible for ensuring that they don’t repeat the mistakes of the past, including choking in crunch matches.
For a third time in a row, their qualifiers for a major tournament could go down to the wire.
In 2019, they had to beat Libya in the last game in neutral Tunisia to qualify for Afcon in Egypt, before their loss to Sudan ensured that they didn’t book their spot in Cameroon next year.
This time, however, Tau is confident that they’ll get the job done.
“International football is different compared to playing for a big club wherever you are. I’ve been with the (national) team for some time and I’ve been in the situation whereby we have to qualify and we have our last game away,” Tau recalled.
“The guys will honour the opportunity to be here. They want to win and improve. They know how important international football is to our careers. It’s a young group, there are not many problems. That’s why we can easily get along also.”