Johannesburg – Thuso Phala says Bafana Bafana are excited to have finally arrived in Equatorial Guinea and is raring to go ahead of Saturday's start to the Africa Cup of Nations.
“You can see when you arrive here that there is a vibe that says the tournament is here and about to start,” Phala said after South Africa arrived at their base camp in Mongomo, 11 hours after leaving Libreville, Gabon.
“We can feel the excitement growing from the people we have met, more so among the players as this is the moment we have all been waiting for.
“We just want to get down to the business of playing.”
After a three-hour wait for their connecting flight from Malabo to Mongomeyin Airport, near Mongomo, Shakes Mashaba's troops finally made it to their final destination as preparations wind down before their first fixture, against Algeria, on Monday.
Bafana Bafana were in Gabon for a training camp where they played two warm-up matches.
South Africa were held to a 1-1 draw against Cameroon before following it up with a 3-0 win over Mali.
Mashaba says all eyes now turn to Algeria, the top ranked team in Africa.
“Our arrival here signals the beginning of the tournament, if ever there were any doubts about the event then they need to be removed,” he said.
“We have gone about our business with our preparations and we are happy with our achievements and now we wait for Algeria.”– Sapa