Bafana face battle in Cape Verde

BAFANA Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has cautioned against complacency heading into Friday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Cape Verde.

Cape Verde are viewed as the whipping boys in Group D – they are yet to win a game in the qualifiers – and Baxter said Bafana could not afford to underestimate their 114th-ranked hosts.

“My father said to me ‘Always beware the man that has nothing to lose’. They have got nothing to lose‚” Baxter said yesterday.

“I think we have to go there with the same attitude. They can play the way they want.

“If we play well, I think we have got a chance of getting a good result, but we’ve got to make sure that our mentality is tight.

“We want to be a team‚ we want to make sure that everybody puts in 100%.

“We want to be able to express ourselves in the right way‚ have that feeling of no regrets and no anxiety.

“We are looking forward to the game and to quieten down all the chit-chat that may have made us complacent‚ that may have made us nervous.”

Baxter, who has had to deal with injuries to key personnel, said that midfielder Thulani Serero was nursing a hamstring complaint, while SuperSport United’s Clayton Daniels had been called up to replace the injured Rivaldo Coetzee.

Explaining the thinking behind Daniels’ selection‚ the Briton said he needed someone who could hit the ground running in Cape Verde and did not have the luxury of experimenting.

The two worked together at United and Baxter said he knew exactly what Daniels would bring to the table.

Bafana are second in World Cup qualifying group D after two matches‚ level on four points with Burkina Faso‚ who only lead on goal difference. Bafana depart for Cape Verde today.

We want to be able to express ourselves in the right way‚ have that feeling of no regrets and no anxiety