Cape Town - Shakes Mashaba hung on to the Bafana Bafana job by the skin of his teeth. Now he needs to prove that his bosses were right in keeping him on as coach, starting with Saturday’s 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou.
The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign ended in tears for Bafana Bafana as they went winless in their first four games, and registered just a single victory when it was too late.
In a group involving Gambia, Mauritania and Cameroon, South Africa finished third on seven points, behind Cameroon on 14 and lowly Mauritania on eight. That result was strong grounds for Mashaba to be fired, but somehow the 66-year-old managed to convince Safa that he should be given another chance to try and qualify for Russia 2018.
But if Bafana couldn’t win their Afcon group, how are they going to get past an even stronger Group D for the World Cup qualifiers? Apart from the Burkinabe, the other teams are Senegal and Cape Verde – Senegal were unbeaten in topping their Afcon group against Namibia, Burundi and Niger, while Cape Verde ended second behind Morocco.
Burkina Faso also won their Afcon group, losing just one game. That is the monumental task facing Bafana, who have had a few off-field issues that has also affected their build-up to Saturday’s clash (8pm SA time kickoff).
Defender Eric Mathoho’s younger brother died on Monday and he only found out once he had left South Africa, but Mashaba said on Safa’s website that the Kaizer Chiefs star had decided to stay in camp and play on Saturday, with the funeral set to take place next weekend.
“I want to pay tribute to this loyal servant of the country. We had asked him to be excused if he needed to attend to the bereavement of his brother, but he insisted he wanted to help the country do well in the World Cup qualifiers,” Mashaba said.
“Now that is what we call selfless patriotism, this is someone who is prepared to die for the country and on behalf of the entire Bafana Bafana technical team; I was to thank Tower from the bottom of my heart.”
Striker Tokelo Rantie didn’t report to camp despite being released for national duty by his Turkish club Genclerbirligi, and is apparently in South Africa and has not been replaced. That leaves just three strikers available in Eleazar Rodgers, Thamsanqa Gabuza and Thobani Mncwango.
It has also taken Bafana two days to get to Ouagadougou, where elements such as locusts, bees and a lack of turf pitches have hampered their preparation. But despite these challenges, Mashaba was in confident mode on the eve of the match.
“It is always ideal to have a great start. Once you are up and running and you get your campaign to a flying start, one thing normally follows the other and that is what we would like to see on Saturday,” he said on the Safa website on Friday.
“The players are mentally and physically prepared. Some critics have spoken about the stifling heat, but I don’t think it will be a factor because that heat will affect all of us.”
Mashaba believes a fast start on Saturday and in next month’s qualifier against Senegal would put Bafana well on their way to Russia. “They say first impression last longer and we want to stamp our authority in this opening qualifier. Three points against Burkina Faso and another good result against Senegal at home in November and we will be in charge of our destiny,” he said.
“That is what we need to do; go to the festive break with six points in the bag. It will make our lives easier; make players more relaxed and eager to do even better in coming games. We have learnt our lessons from the 2017 Afcon campaign on how critical it is to start with a bang.
“We have rectified where we went wrong, have planned the way forward, and I am confident – looking at the players’ body language – that we are ready to take off in flying fashion.”
@ashfakmohamed
Independent Media