South Africa need to deliver

SOMEHOW, we seem to have lost the desire to compete. Our football is not as captivating as it used to be. Gone are the days when nations used to dread the prospect of facing South Africa in a qualifier for any major tournament.

Now, minnow nations such as Mauritania beat us. Do you still remember that humiliating 3-1 defeat? Yep, that one where Itumeleng Khune had to go on the internet in an attempt to research who he was facing in their second match of the 2017 Afcon qualifiers.

It is now common knowledge that our lack of proper preparation was our main downfall there.

Well, we had to learn the hard way, didn’t we?

Granted some of you might say that is water under the bridge. But how can it be when we are going to once again watch the continent’s premier competition as spectators?

Surely, coach Shakes Mashaba and his charges have to feel some sort of remorse, especially leading up to the Fifa World Cup qualifiers that begin with us undertaking a trip to Ougadougou to face Burkina Faso this weekend.

That’s the only way they’ll feel the need to make up for what proved to be a disappointing Afcon qualifying campaign that saw us finish third in a group we could have easily topped. We didn’t even finish second to give ourselves a chance of going through to next year’s biennial continental showpiece in Gabon as one of the best runners-up.

Now we’ll be forced to once again watch on our screens wondering about the ‘could have beens’ if only we could have gone through.

But we’ll have to live and deal with that disappointment now, don’t we?

The World Cup qualifiers now become a perfect opportunity for coach Shakes to redeem himself, especially with his job on the line.

It’s quite clear that he’s not a fan favourite given the recent poor showings of the senior national team.

His boss, Danny Jordaan, has given hints that the man is most likely to get the chop, provided if he doesn’t deliver. But can he deliver? No doubt topping a group that includes Senegal, Burkina Faso and Cape Verde won’t be a walk in the park.

What is good though is that we have previously played all these nations and Mashaba can have something to look back at for guidance.

But with proper preparation and a desire to give their all for the country, Bafana Bafana have what it takes to top this group and go on to properly qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2002.

Extra motivation for coach Shakes is that he’ll be the second South African black coach to lead South Africa to a World Cup, with Jomo Sono having done it before back 2002 for the Korea/Japan edition.

Glory and fame awaits Mashaba and his charges. It’s up to them to grab this opportunity with both hands and go mix it up with the world’s best in Russia. I know all of us want them to. PS: Don’t disappoint bra Shakes.