Forget about the rest, Bafana, and seize your moment against Senegal

THERE are situations in sport when a football squad has to take all the things that weigh it down and place it on the backburner. There are times when the team has to assume responsibility for their success and rise to the occasion. There are moments when players have to stare down the daunting challenge they face and strive to achieve, in spite of the frustration and uncertainty that hover around them.

When Bafana Bafana host Senegal in a 2018 World Cup qualifier in Polokwane tomorrow, this is undoubtedly such a time. This is such a moment.

It’s about temporarily putting on hold all the noise about the future of head coach Shakes Mashaba – at stake is a place at the global football extravaganza in Russia in 2018.

Whatever the players’ opinion on Mashaba is – and there are those who believe he is out of his depth – this is the time to shine.

However divided Safa are about whether Mashaba is the right man or not, this is the occasion to get behind the team. Whatever the overwhelming public opinion may be – and there are many who feel that Mashaba should’ve packed his bags after Bafana failed to qualify for Afcon 2017 – this the moment to demonstrate that as a footballing nation, when we get things right we can compete with the best on the continent.

The pinnacle of football joy – for team and country – is to play at the World Cup. It’s the ultimate dream for any top-level footballer. But, based on how SA football has gone about doing things down the years, perhaps they don’t really believe the greatest sporting show on the planet is all that important.

Because, to be brutally honest, for a country with all the talent and infrastructure it has available, South Africa’s qualification record is abysmal. Since playing their first international game in 1992 – after being readmitted to Fifa – Bafana have qualified for the World Cup just twice: 1998 and 2002. (Let’s not count 2010 because South Africa qualified as hosts).

Now, here’s another opportunity to carve out a spot at a World Cup tournament. Will we be disappointed yet again?

In a qualifying group with Burkina Faso, Senegal and Cape Verde, and only the eventual group winner securing a place in Russia, there is no room for any dithering or uncertainty.

Safa, as per usual, has found time to vacillate. While president Danny Jordaan was a few months ago unhappy with the direction of Bafana under Mashaba, the association closed ranks around the embattled coach and allowed him to continue.

Whatever their reasons, be it financial or just sheer obstinacy, it is what it is. And that is why this is the time, this is that moment. Forget the coach and the officialdom – with World Cup qualification on the line, it doesn’t matter who is in charge, it doesn’t matter what negative rumblings there are, the only focus for the players should be to beat Senegal and thrust Bafana on the front foot when the qualification programme continues next year.

Senegal are favourites to top the group and they are already out in front after an opening win over Cape Verde, while Bafana played to a draw with the Burkinabe.

The west Africans have arrived here with a star-studded squad – including Liverpool winger Sadio Mané, Cheikhou Kouyaté of West Ham and Everton’s Idrissa Gueye – but not even that should scare Bafana off. When at their best, when they play to potential, South African players can mix it with Africa’s football giants.

Coaches, I guess, are always crucial in football. They are supposed to get the best out of the players at their disposal and, after intently studying the opposition, formulate a plan and strategy designed to elicit a victory for the team.

They are responsible for motivation, fostering the players’ technique, tactical awareness and game discipline, and for the general harmony and spirit in the squad. (Quite a few of which Mashaba has been found wanting.)

But, when all is said and done, when the referee blows the whistle to kick off the 90 minutes, it’s down to the players – it’s about how they read match situations, how they respond to pressure, how committed they are and, critically, how hungry they are to win.

So here’s the moment for Bafana – this is not about Safa or Mashaba, this is not about development and grassroots structures, this is not about all that is wrong with the local game… This is about the team, this is about qualifying for the prestigious World Cup in 2018. If that doesn’t motivate the players, then I’m sure that nothing will. (We’ll continue the noise about Safa, Mashaba and all the rest afterwards.) For tomorrow, there’s just Senegal.