The national U-20 team could form the backbone of Bafana in the not-too-distant future.
Pitso Mosimane’s long-held dream of conquering Africa might be coming true at last.
Cameroon and South Africa were meant to beat the minnows and then battle it out.
Africa has to swiftly whittle down the number of competitors from 54 nations to 20 in the space of two months.
South Africa’s Africa Cup of Nations defeat in Mauritania this weekend was a blow to the country.
On paper, Mashaba’s men should win but this is a tie fraught with potential pitfalls, not least those of South Africa’s own making.
SA paired with Angola. It is the only one of 20 second-round ties featuring two former qualifiers with Angola shock participants in 2006 tournament.
The media would rather cover the failings of Bafana Bafana than the success of Banyana Banyana.
Cameroon is the biggest obstacle on the path to Afcon, but two minnows could pull out a surprise.
SA have fallen prey to Nigeria many times, but now have a chance to down the wounded Super Eagles.
After the African Nations Cup debacle, Shakes seems to have no choice but to bring back Bafana’s brash foreign-based players.
South Africa’s campaign ended with a single point from three outings, which was more than enough to send Ghana and Algeria to the second round.
"There is no way we cannot feel the pressure. But everyone is under pressure, even the opposition," coach Shakes Mashaba said.
Bafana has what it takes to win but their technical team is ignoring the finer points of their game.
Tournament favourite Algeria avoided an unpleasant surprise at the African Cup of Nations on Monday, while four-time champion Ghana did not.
Despite a history of losing their Afcon opening matches, Bafana Bafana are determined to topple Algeria, Africa’s top-ranked team, in Monday’s match.
Form rates Cameroon, Tunisia and Senegal as the sides to watch, but African rankings point to Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana as champs.
Shakes Mashaba’s regime has generated optimism around Bafana Bafana for the first time in more than a decade, but it is unclear if this is justified.
South Africa kicks off in an Afcon group of death, of which the opponents are at least aware. Safa however is already happy with the placement alone.
Fifa and the South African authorities have shown little interest in confronting a scandal that weighs on Bafana’s image.
Bafana coach Sahes Mashaba has confidence that Bafana Bafana will get through to the next round, despite a difficult draw.
The former Bafana coach is leading a revival at Telkom Knockout finalists SuperSport United.
It was the individual power and pace of Tokelo Rantie that swung the game in South Africa’s favour. He now needs to work on consistency.
The African Nations Cup will slip out of the national team’s reach if they don’t score big against Sudan.
The football association will no longer consider midfielder May Mahlangu for the SA team after he begged off training, saying he needed a rest.
The national football team have proven they can do well under pressure but they are dangerously close to being eliminated.
Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba said on Saturday he would now work on keeping his players grounded after they defeated Congo-Brazzaville 2-0 on Saturday.
Bafana Bafana’s coach has based his selection on taking the team to the Nations Cup in Morocco.
The midfielder will play for the national squad after Shakes Mashaba recalled the Ajax Amsterdam player for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Mashaba should beef up the squad and allow more convincing options off the bench, instead of players who haven’t even touched a ball in the PSL yet.
The continent’s biggest footballing event is to kick off amid troubles ranging from dual-identity players to the spread of the Ebola virus.
Mashaba is back – and he’s just as defensive as ever about his push for patriotism over self-publicity.