Shakes Mashaba, crowned Coach of the Year at the SA Sports Awards, is eagerly awaiting the draw for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
|||
Shakes Mashaba, crowned Coach of the Year at the SA Sports Awards, is eagerly awaiting the draw for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Having qualified Bafana Bafana for the tournament – the first time since 2008 – the national football coach needs to know who Bafana will come up against in the continent’s most prestigious event, in order to start planning and preparing.
The draw for Afcon 2015 takes place tomorrow in Malabo, the capital of the host country, Equatorial Guinea (live on SS7 at 8pm).
Over the weekend, an inexperienced, experimental Bafana side was impressive in defeating an equally under-strength Ivory Coast 2-0 in the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge friendly. But, as good as the performance was, it’s unlikely that too many of those players will be on the plane to Equatorial Guinea in January next year.
Mashaba, no doubt, already has the bulk of the players he wants, including the midfield axis of Dean Furman and Andile Jali, and defenders such as Erick Mathoho, Tefu Mashamaite, Anele Ngcongca, Thulani Hlatshwayo and Rivaldo Coetzee.
Two players who will have Mashaba keeping his fingers crossed are striker Tokelo Rantie and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.
Rantie, who has been brilliant for Bafana, scoring four goals in six Afcon qualifiers, is in a race against time to be fit for the continental showpiece. He dislocated his shoulder playing for English Championship side Bournemouth last month and the initial prognosis was that he would be out for six weeks. The English club confirmed that Rantie, 24, would not require surgery, but that the recovery process would take time.
Bafana – and Mashaba – definitely need the in-form striker to be fit and ready, as he is about the only source of goals for the team at the moment.
Khune was the country’s number one goalkeeper before being struck down by a bad ankle injury. He has been out of action for four months and his club Kaizer Chiefs have emphasised that they are not going to push him hard. They want him to recover at his own pace to ensure that he recovers fully. Mashaba will have to monitor the situation carefully before deciding whether Khune will be part of the 2015 squad or not.
In any case, Bafana are adequately covered in the goalkeeping department, with Belgium-based Darren Keet and Chiefs’ rising star, Brilliant Khuzwayo, to choose from. And, if Mashaba needs more experience and quality, there’s also Ronwen Williams of SuperSport United and Wayne Sandilands of Mamelodi Sundowns.
The South Africans will certainly have to be at their best in Equatorial Guinea. While they were exceptional during the qualifiers, sealing their spot with an unbeaten run, the actual tournament presents different challenges and conditions.
South Africans are notoriously bad travellers on the continent. During the qualifiers, Bafana were able to jet in and out of the countries they played in – Sudan, Congo and Nigeria – via charter flight, ensuring that they spent as little time there as possible.
This is not possible at Afcon. They will have to adapt to the local conditions – and, at the same time, the nature of the opposition will be decidedly stronger, with top football nations like Ghana, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Cameroon and Senegal eager to be crowned African champions. - Cape Argus
from Soccer Soccer Extended RSS http://ift.tt/1vETEa3
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire