Bafana are on the rise – Ntseki
Coach believes SA can again dominate Africa
BAFANA Bafana have become a shadow of the team that was once a powerhouse in Africa but coach Molefi Ntseki believes the South African senior national men’s team isn’t far from turning the corner and rediscovering the glory days.
In 1996 they were crowned champions of Africa and a year later competed in the Fifa Confederation Cup before qualifying for their maiden World Cup in 1998 in
France.
Ntseki believes it was a combination of factors that saw Bafana reaching those heights in the 1990s and feels those levels are not beyond their grasp once more.
“If we have a top league in South Africa, we will have top players,” said the Bafana coach.
“If we have top players, we will export more players to top European leagues. If we look back, we will realise that we once had top players with many of them playing in
Europe and doing very well there. In the recent years, we’ve seen a decline in terms of the numbers of players we are exporting overseas.
“When you look back since 2014 we are seeing an increase of players that we are exporting overseas again. We are keeping tabs and profiling them and we will bring them into the Bafana set-up. It is important to have a top league like we have in the country because we can export players overseas.
“When that happens, it means we will have a strong national team,” Ntseki said.
“A strong national team will compete in the Cosafa Cup and dominate the region. A strong national team will compete in the Afcon and do well.
“Doing well in the Afcon will also produce good quality players and they will be scouted by European teams. When that happens, we will have players who will qualify for the World Cup. As a country, we will see ourselves qualifying for every World Cup and Afcon – not just qualifying but doing well in the competition itself,” Ntseki elaborated.
It has been 18 years since Bafana qualified for the World Cup. South Africa played in the 2010 edition by virtue of being the host nation.
“If you remember how Zambia won the Afcon (in 2012), nobody gave them a chance. But the attitude of the Zambian team and with the coach (Herve Renard) and his personality, being a winner, we saw Zambia doing very well.
“I think we’ve got more quality that we can use for the team to qualify and do well, as long as the players’ attitude is what is required. Players must believe in themselves to say, ‘we can do it’.
“South Africa won against Ghana in the Afcon semi-final in 1996 and I still believe that if we have that belief and right attitude; we will win against Ghana and qualify for Afcon. Whoever we have to play in the last 10 or last five, if the attitude is right and the belief is right, we will do well,” Ntseki added.
Bafana were pitted against Ghana in both Afcon 2021 and World Cup 2022 qualifiers and Ntseki will have his work cut out for him.
“I believe that with the group that we have now and other talent that is waiting on the wings, we will have a very strong team going into Afcon and World Cup. Qualifying for the Afcon will be a great preparation for us to go for World Cup qualifiers. I have faith in the team, we are capable and the real challenge is to be consistent,” Ntseki said.