Did we achieve our goals?

We are still in the FIFA break, without any local professional football taking place, and Bafana Bafana have already played Guinea and are about to play France as I’m writing this column, so by the time you read it, the game would have finished. I must stress that coach Hugo Broos and his technical team have been doing well in terms of introducing new payers into the team and the boys never disappoint.

I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about that game because football is a game of opinions. So everyone is entitled to how they feel. A lot of people were not happy in terms of the goalless draw. At the end of the day, it is true and understandable that some people may be unhappy, looking at the chances that we created. Had we buried those chances, we’d be talking a different story now. Guinea have a number of players plying their trade abroad. Honestly, I was impressed with all the new faces that were introduced by coach Broos because they really showed a lot of character. I understand that, at this level, there is no way we can’t not have best finishers or good decision-makers on the field because when you play for the national team, you should be at a level where you produce the expected results. Nothing less than 80% will make us happy. Even if things don’t go your way, there has to be something that we see, whether it is the body language, individual brilliance or even finishing. There are certain moments in the game where it baffles me to see the poor decisions we take.

From my analysis, one of the points that we need to highlight is our finishing. If Bafana Bafana was a club football team, I would ask coach Broos to work on his team’s finishing, but that’s not the case. I’m not taking any dig at the boys, but it is just that at some stage, we might find ourselves regretting these things if they’re not being addressed now. You can’t expect the national team coach and his technical team to be polishing things like finishing. The players themselves, it is their responsibility to deliver whenever they are called up and they need to understand that playing for the national team is about the whole country, which is way bigger than club football. If you’re still lacking certain techniques or tactics, then you need to start analyzing yourself and go back to the drawing board. Remember, those who excel on the field only do so because they spend extra time at practice trying to correct their mistakes and improve their game.

This is a lesson to all the players who were given an opportunity, whether they’re tried and tested or just new, you must remember that there’s no time for the national team head coach to be polishing your technique. This is where we get it wrong with our grassroots level, where we don’t instill the correct behaviour. That’s why a lot of European coaches have a problem with most of our players because our development doesn’t deal with the real development issues. It is only at a later stage, when players are already in the junior national teams, that they get exposed to the proper development, which is already late. We have to make sure that, as much as we are proud of the boys for playing so well against Guinea, we can’t carry on like that if we are to be reckoned with. We dismantled our opponents and forced them to make mistakes in order to gain scoring opportunities, but we just didn’t capitalize on them. It is not like nothing is happening, at least we are creating enough chances to win games, so we just need to convert. You can’t win games through possession or creating chances, it is the scoring of goals that matters the most. That’s what our boys need to remember and this is from a former footballer to the current footballers. Don’t expect the national team coach to help you improve certain aspects of your game. They don’t have time because they have to assemble a team a few days before they play a game, so there’s no time to be teaching players.

You can’t have a player miss an opportunity inside the six-meter box and then you point a finger at the bench. We must also be solution-orientated in our analysis of the game instead of just pouring cold* water. The first 20 minutes against Guinea was what Bafana is all about and to think we’ve not played any game since that controversial 1-0 loss to Ghana, and then we play as well as we did, you can’t help but be proud of the boys. In my opinion, everything was done and prepared well. You could see from the line-up and the approach that there was a plan and it was executed perfectly. It is expected that we will have a different line-up and approach against France because we are talking a completely different opposition. Take nothing away from Guinea because they are also a quality side. It is a pity you will be reading this column with the game having been played already. But I know it is going to be a well-oiled France team.

The fact that the France game was a sold-out affair a couple of days in advance tells you about the level of interest in this match. I’ve been watching their preparations and you can tell that these guys mean business and plan to give us a run for our money. What was the reason for us to play these two friendlies? Did we achieve our goals? We need to look at these two questions and they will give us a clear view of where we are going. Great thing is that we didn’t lose against Guinea and went to the France game in full confidence. Even if the team will be changed around, whoever is brought in against France knows that those who played against

Guinea raised their hands and set the standard. So, everyone will be on their toes, which is good for the national team because it means we are widening our scope. There will be the 12th man against France, which is something we have not experienced in a long time.

For our locally-based players, it will be a completely new experience to see a capacity-packed stadium because they’ve not had that in two years here at home. Yes, characters are not the same, but the capacity crowd could prove to be just what the team needs against France. I used to enjoy playing in front of a capacity crowd, whether it was here at home or away. They always brought the best out of me. Remember, you don’t know who is watching these games and looking for talent. This is an opportunity for every player to market themselves. Look at the number of our players who were signed overseas after we won the 1996 Afcon. These games are very important because they are not just friendly games and you get a cap from this game and if you deliver, you’re almost guaranteed another call-up, but if you don’t, then you stand no chance. Some of our players probably support and adore a number of France players, but you don’t go with that attitude to such games. You just tell yourself that idolizing them is put on the side and now is the time to show them who you are and what you’re made of. That can only motivate you to go out there and deliver, regardless of who the opposition is. At the end of the day, the ball is round and there will be 11 v 11 on the field.