Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
SA to go for jugular in Nations Cup opener
Bafana face favourites Algeria on Monday and will fancy causing upset
COACH Shakes Mashaba is targeting Monday’s tournament opener against Algeria to set the tone for what he expects is going to be a great African Cup of Nations for Bafana Bafana.
Mashaba has said right from the start that he has packed to stay until February 9 – the day after the final of the biennial showpiece in Bata, which is about 260 kilometres from their Mongomo base where they are going to play all their group matches.
Bafana, though, are in Group C, better known as the Group of Death, that is also featuring Ghana and Senegal and it’s going to be difficult to qualify for the quarter-finals as one of the first or second-placed teams in the group.
But a win over tournament favourites Algeria could go a long way in setting the platform for an assault on African glory that didn’t even seem remotely possible six months ago.
And being the first match of the tournament in Group C, it could be easier for the South Africans to get in a suckerpunch against a team who were close to beating eventual champions Germany in the round of 16 at last year’s World Cup in Brazil.
“All 16 teams that are here wish to win their first game,” Mashaba told the media yesterday after team arrived from Libreville, Gabon, via the Equatorial Guinean capital of Malabo.
“Once you don’t win the first game, it puts you under pressure, and then you have to double your efforts to win the last two games. But another thing we have to be aware of is that the first game of a tournament is not easy, it is very unpredictable, and nobody is sure what will happen.
“But we are trying to make an impression, to get a result and then start going forward,” he said.
Mashaba likes to talk a good game, but even he knows it’s going to be difficult to try and break down the teams in their group. However, their successful training camp in Gabon is going to give them a lot of confidence. Especially after the 3-0 win over a full-strength Mali line- up, which showed that Bafana can cope with the physical challenges posed by the big west African sides.
“It is a tough group. You are talking about Algeria, the number one side in Africa; Senegal, who have a very expensive squad of players all playing abroad, and Ghana, who are a strong side as well,” Mashaba said.
“The biggest problem is that you have three different types of approach, three different styles in all the matches. But fortunately for us, things went well in Gabon, we managed to play three different types of teams. We played Zambia, we played Cameroon, who are very strong, very physical and quick going forward, and with their combinations, and we played Mali.
“We have played some of the favourites to win the Afcon, but we are ready for it, the preparations went well.”
The expectations of the nations are high following Bafana’s unbeaten qualifying campaign. But Mashaba says his team aren’t feeling the pressure to try and win the Afcon for the first time in 19 years.
“It goes without saying that if you plant a flower and it blossoms, a woman says she wants more. When we started we were building a team for the future and things went well for us, so now everyone says we have to win the Afcon,” he said. “But I don’t want people to doubt us, we stand a good chance to compete and to go to the final.”
The Algerian journalists, who were later asked by Ghanaian officials to leave the Hotel Mongomo where Bafana and Ghana are sharing, were trying to find out how much Mashaba knows about their national side.
But the veteran coach is playing his cards close to his chest, and rather chose to talk about his young side, who have surprised everybody with an unbeaten run in their last 10 matches.
“It is dangerous knowing another team’s strong points, it might lead to paralysis,” Mashaba joked when asked about Algeria’s strengths.
“We know what Algeria can do and which players they rely on, but yesterday, today and tomorrow are never the same. Things change so we are expecting everything, and that is why I am saying the preparation helped us going into this tournament.”