Bafana could see some action at last
Bafana Bafana will announce their squad opponents for the Nelson Mandela Challenge this afternoon, and the main hope for Molefi Ntseki has to be that whoever Bafana’s opponents are actually turn up to play this time around.
The game will be played on October 13, rather appropriately, at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, pending, one presumes, any more of the xenophobic violence that erupted in this country ahead of the September international. That created the bizarre situation of a full-strength Bafana squad getting together, but having no one to play except Moroka Swallows as Zambia, and then Madagascar, rightly pulled out of playing South Africa.
Ntseki certainly badly needs this game now, as it will be his only likely preparation match before Bafana start their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month.
Training sessions can only do so much towards preparing a team for action, match practice is crucial, and this game should give us an idea of exactly how Ntseki intends to mould Bafana in his own image, following the resignation of Stuart Baxter after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
One wonders how much Ntseki will change his squad from the one he selected ahead of the September internationals. The likelihood is that he will be inclined to give as many as possible another chance, given the false start Bafana had last month.
A player like Luther Singh continues to raise his hand in attack, and netted against the mighty Benfica at the weekend, but a greater likelihood is that South Africa will want to save the likes of Singh and Lyle Foster for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament for Tokyo 2020.
It will also be interesting to see if Thembinkosi Lorch, who has been in no sort of form for Orlando Pirates, keeps his place – Lorch had a stellar season in the 2018/19 Premier Soccer League campaign, and a good Africa Cup of Nations, but does not seem to have benefited from Rulani Mokwena taking the coaching hot-seat at the Buccaneers, cutting a peripheral figure in recent weeks.
Tshegofatso Mabasa, the provider of three sumptuous finishes in his last couple of games for Pirates, is likely to have caught the eye of Ntseki, while Kermit Erasmus continues to shine, and is certainly likely to remain in the Bafana coach’s plans.
Mabasa, frankly, is one of few bright spots for Pirates of late, in a season that is threatening to fall to pieces. Part of this is hardly Pirates’ fault, with Milutin Sredojevic’s resignation coming out of the blue, and with Rulani Mokwena coming in as a young coach attempting to shape the side to his own strong will.
Mokwena certainly needs to start producing results on a more consistent basis, however, if one is to see him continuing as Buccaneers coach into next year, never mind next season.
We hear from the Pirates head coach in this week’s
Phakaaathi, as well as from Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane, who speaks on one of his misfiring strikers.
Benni McCarthy also has his say on Cape Town City’s difficult start to the season, while our regular One-onOne feature is a fascinating interview with SuperSport United winger Thabo Qalinge, who moved to Matsatsantsa from Pirates this season.
Elsewhere, we get the latest on Bantwana’s Cosafa Cup campaign, and from the GladAfrica Championship, where there has been another coaching casualty in the last week or so.