Bafana completed another
day of training as they prepared for their meeting Botswana in the in the final
group match to be staged at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The match will be played on
Saturday, kick-off at 15:30.
The Kaizer Chiefs
striker said the importance of the match could not be over emphasized as
Botswana also have
something to play for.
“We expect Botswana to
come at us guns blazing but we are focused on winning the match. All week long
the coach has been emphasizing the importance of making the right decisions in the
final third of the field.
“He also drummed it into
us that we need to be more composed and clinical in front of goals especially
with so many chances we are creating. He again told us to have self-belief
because then we can use our ability to score goals and win, but we are all
positive minded,” said Parker.
Meanwhile, Belgium-based
defender Anele Ngcongca said the desire to win was great.
“We know Botswana are no
pushovers because they, like us, have everything to play for. And although our
fate is not in our hands we are determined to win and end the group stage on a
high. The desire to win is deep and we are going there to give our all,” said
the right-back.
“It won’t be a formality
as Botswana is still in the running but we are ready for them we have prepared
well. We have to stick to the coach’s game plan and we’ll succeed. I just hope
CAR beats Ethiopia but having said that, we still need to go out and beat
Botswana.”
Ngcongca missed the
Nelson Mandela Challenge clash against Nigeria due to his Belgian club not
allowing him to travel. He was subsequently banned by FIFA and missed his club
during that week. But the player stressed his commitment to Bafana and said he
was thrilled to be back.
“It is all water under
the bridge, I’m happy to be in the squad and playing again for my country. We
had a challenge back then but it has since been sorted by both my club and SAFA
– so it just feels good to be back,” he said.
Despite matters not
being in their own hands, Bafana Bafana know that they have a good chance of
going to the play-off. For that to happen, they need to beat Botswana and hope
for a favourable result in the match between Ethiopia and the Central African
Republic.
In the event of a loss
to Ethiopia, South Africa will be on 11 points – one more than the East
Africans – while a draw will see both countries level on 11 points. Bafana
Bafana will then proceed to the play-off stage of the qualifiers on a better
goal-difference after scoring five goals without reply against CAR. South
Africa defeated that nation 2-0 in Cape Town and 3-0 in Cameroon. However, a win for
Ethiopia or a defeat for Bafana Bafana will end South Africa’s hopes of going
to Brazil.
Bafana
Bafana will have their last training session on Friday (6 September) at the
Moses Mabhida Stadium at 11h00. The
first 15 minutes will be open to the media, with the rest of the session
closed.
