Bafana
Bafana coach Gordon Igesund has hinted that he might give four youngsters a
chance in his starting line-up when South Africa take on Morocco in an
international friendly match scheduled for Agadir Stadium on Friday evening.
Speaking
after the squad’s second and final training session in Morocco on Thursday (10
October), Igesund had nothing but praise for his charges.
“The
guys are fired up for the game. They all want to play and that’s always
difficult for the coach because you can’t play everybody. But I have to find
the right balance, mix the youngsters with the experienced players. Most of the
youngsters are looking very sharp and they could give us something tomorrow. I
have my starting 11 but there is one or two I need to confirm,” said the Bafana
Bafana mentor.
“I
want to see the team stabilised in the first half, and you can expect to see
players like Sibusiso Vilakazi, Daylon Claasen, and I am even thinking of
giving Siyanda Xulu a chance at the back – so you could see about four
youngsters in there. We have to give them a chance and see them progress
because these are the future stars.”
A
capacity crowd is expected after all tickets at the 45 000-seater venue were
snapped up two days ago.
“I
am not surprised that tickets have been sold out. Everyone around here wants to
be part of the celebrations of opening the new stadium,” said one Morocco fan.
“We
cannot understand what they say in the newspapers, but the people we speak to
tell us this is a big game for them hence they have brought their best players.
I believe with this match there is so much to take out of because Morocco are
giants of African football,” added Igesund.
South
Africa has not lost to Morocco in four competitive outings. This will be the
first time they play in a friendly international.
