Bafana Bafana hasn’t been under this sort of pressure since 1997. On a hot summer afternoon Phil Masinga hit a rocket from midfield past the Congolese goalkeeper to propel South Africa to its first World Cup and send a capacity crowd of 60 000 at FNB stadium (and 40-million at home) into raptures.
Now the class of 2003 faces the same pressure. For coach Ephraim ”Shakes” Mashaba the match against Côte d’Ivoire in Polokwane on Sunday is all about getting a win and securing maximum points. ”This is the toughest match of all, it is even worse than the 1997 qualifying match for the World Cup, in the sense that there is a hurdle of goals put in front of us,” he says.
It’s time for Bafana Bafana and the nation to put their differences of the past weeks aside and support each other in the task of qualifying for the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia next year. Mashaba has described Sunday’s game as ”a mammoth task”.
The coach says ”it’s crucial for the country to qualify for the Nations Cup”, to prove that the South African national team is a force to be reckoned with in Africa and to enhance the bid for the 2010 World Cup.
The importance of Sunday’s game cannot be overstated: a loss by Bafana Bafana means no place in the Nations Cup. A draw gives the national team a breather.
For the Elephants this is their last qualifier. They already have seven points in the group to South Africa’s four, with a draw meaning that Bafana Bafana would have to beat Burundi by four clear goals in their final game on July 6 to progress.
At the training camp this week in Polokwane the players were in high spirits. Mashaba concentrated on his strike force, which has been disappointing lately. But the coach must be relieved that in the 2-1 victory against Trinidad and Tobago last weekend at least one of his strikers, Lesley Manyathela, delivered. The attack will be strengthened by the return of Siyabonga Nomvete, who has proven time and again that he can do the business when it matters. The diminutive striker will have to be at his lethal best again, despite not having played for a whole season in the Italian league because of an injury. Mashaba’s hopes also rest on the talented but temperamental Benni McCarthy.
These strikers will depend on supply from a midfield — with the likes of Steven Pienaar, Delron Buckley, Macbeth Sibaya and Sibusiso Zuma — that has been devastating with its defence-splitting passes.Â
But caution cannot be thrown to the winds. The Elephants will remember that after their early exit from the Nations Cup three years ago the national team was detained in a military camp — and they won’t be keen to face that again.
Their 6-1 trouncing of Burundi signalled their intent. Bafana Bafana should heed the warning from Burundi goalkeeper Aimé Kitenge, who says these Ivorians are willing to die on the playing field in order to qualify for Tunisia.