Durban - Bafana Bafana bounced back from their COSAFA disappointments with a hard fought away first leg victory over Comoros last week in African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualification and will look to finish the job when the two sides collide at the weekend.
The CHAN tournament will be held from January 8 to February 5, 2023 in Algeria.
Bafana Bafana Assistant coach Helman Mkhalele, who has been in charge of the team in the absence of head coach Hugo Broos has opted to not swap out his youthful side mostly composed of under-23 players as he looks for continuity.
The 52-year-old mentor has been forced however to tinker with his squad as players continue to recover from injuries and brush up on their final pre-season preparations ahead of the new season.
The coach made a total of five changes from the side that won the Plate in Durban and the team that secured an away victory in Comoros last weekend.
“I have brought in five new players to add to that squad which played away because some of our players who featured in the first leg match were ruled out due to injuries,” Mkhalele told SAFA.net
“We have roped in the likes of Promise Mkhuma, George Matlou, Sammy Seabi, Sibusiso Milazi and Keenan Phillips as suitable replacements as we continue with our preparations for the upcoming second leg fixture against Comoros.
Mkhalele has continuously alluded to the fact that as much as they're always playing to win but having a squad of this nature serves as a great foundation for what they as the technical team are looking to do to prepare Amajita (U23) to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Bafana put together an inspired performance in the away leg of this fixture and walked away victorious through a Khulekani Shozi solitary goal but Mkhalele believes it is for this reason that their opposition will look to cause greater harm to them this time around.
"This second tie is not going to be easy because we expect Comoros to come at us with the intention of overturning the first leg result we produced against them,” he said.
“We are not going to allow them room as this is one match we want to dominate from the first whistle until the last.”
The second leg encounter of CHAN qualification between the two sides will take centre stage on Saturday at the Dobsonville Stadium in a 3pm kick off.
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