Relaxed Mashaba shows his hand
Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba added some experience to his young side for the vital qualifying clash with Mauritania.
|||Shakes Mashaba’s nonchalance as he announced a 25-man squad for next month’s clash with Mauritania belied the pressure the Bafana Bafana coach must be feeling as he looks to help South Africa get their first win in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Mashaba has surprisingly called up Kaizer Chiefs’ veteran left-back Tsepo Masilela in what will no doubt be seen as a turn-around in the ‘’youth is best policy’’ he has espoused since taking over.
He was in a particularly jovial mood at the press conference held at Safa House yesterday as he greeted the gathered media in no less than four languages, including directing a Shangaan greeting to a white journalist.
Acknowledging Women’s Month, he then suggested that “maybe we should take the women to Mauritania because they will get us the results”.
But it is Bafana who will have to ensure they get their first win of the campaign after they were surprisingly held goalless by Gambia at home in the opening group match for the 2017 tournament to be played in Gabon.
And it is the experience of players such as Masilela that Mashaba will have to rely on to overcome a Mauritania side he has respect for after they restricted Cameroon to a single goal in their own backyard.
Masilela, previously a shoo-in at left-back in the senior national team, has never played under Mashaba, although he was once called up as a replacement for injured Patrick Phungwayo for the Afcon finals earlier this year.
But yesterday Mashaba preferred him ahead of SuperSport United’s Sibusiso Khumalo who had earlier looked to be somewhat of a favourite.
The match will take place at the Stade Olympique in Nouakchott on September 5 (7pm SA time) and Bafana will charter a flight and only go there two days before the match.
“We are not taking Mauritania for granted,” Mashaba stressed. “The fact they went to Cameroon and lost just 1-0 means we can’t take them easy.
“We have to go there and fight tooth and nail to get the three points.
“But we must not put ourselves under pressure.”
Mashaba said they were unable to get the tape of that match between Cameroon and Mauritania and thus know very little about their opposition.
That though will not hinder their planning, for Bafana will simply play their own game.
“We are going to take the game to Mauritania.
“We can’t let them relax. From the first whistle we will go at them. But it is the how we do it that will be important. We won’t just go there and rush forward.”
With only the group winners and two of the best runners-up set to qualify for the finals, Bafana will do well to get off the mark in Mauritania if they are not to miss out. - The Star