Mkhalele upbeat over Bafana chances in Cosafa Cup

Bafana Bafana will be looking to go one better than their third-place finish in 2023 when they start their Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup soccer campaign with a clash against Mozambique at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday (6pm).

The side will be mentored by Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele, who assumes the hot seat in the absence of head coach Hugo Broos.

Bafana will be aiming for another unbeaten run in the group stages, where they also have clashes against Botswana (June 29) and Eswatini (July 2) in the tournament’s 23rd edition.

SA have a young team packed with uncapped players as they look to grow their player pool with the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in mind. 

They have traditionally used the Cosafa Cup to blood young players and players such as Iqraam Rayners got a run in 2023, going on from that to become the starting No 9 in the recent World Cup qualifiers. 

“For us to be able to compete and achieve our results, our view is that it is important to have more players to select from, but more importantly, players with the required competence to perform at the highest level of football,” Mkhalele said.

“As we observed during the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast earlier this year, football on the continent has improved drastically. 

“So for us to sustain the current performance of Bafana Bafana and improve, it is important that we have players who can perform at that level without any doubt.”

In last year’s edition, Bafana drew against Namibia (1-1) before 2-1 wins over Botswana and Eswatini.

They went down 2-1 against eventual champions Zambia before completing a 5-3 penalty shootout victory over Malawi to secure the bronze medal.

During their first appearance in the competition in 1998, they were unceremoniously dumped out in the first round, only two years after winning the African Cup of Nations at their first attempt.

Since that first showing, SA have claimed the title on five occasions, in 2002, 2007, 2008, 2016 and 2021.

Those statistics are bettered only by Zambia and Zimbabwe, who own seven and six titles respectively. 

Bafana have never lost a final, but  they have fallen at the semifinal stage on five occasions, while they have reached at least the quarterfinal stages on eight occasions.

The 12-team tournament will feature three groups of four teams, with the group winners and one best-placed second team advancing to the semifinals.

Matches will be played at the NMB and Wolfson Stadiums from Wednesday until July 2 before returning to the 2010 Fifa World Cup venue for the semifinals, third-place playoff and the final between July 5 and 7. 

Entrance for all matches is free and tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Fans can collect their tickets at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium ticket office, while tickets for matches at the Wolfson Stadium will be available for collection at the Shoprite USave branch in Kwazakhele, adjacent to the stadium.

Tickets can only be collected on match days and fans are urged to get there early to avoid the disappointment of being denied access to the venues.

The Bafana Bafana squad is: Mondli Mpoto, Jaedin Rhodes, Olwethu Mzimela, Ethan Brooks, Samukelo Xulu, Liam Bern, Thabang Matuludi, Devin Titus, Keanu Cupido, Mfundo Thikazi, Thabo Moloisane, Asanele Velebayi, Rushwin Dortley, Tshepang Moremi, Athenkosi Mcaba, Ashley Cupido, Malebogo Modise, Thabang Sibanyoni, Sirgio Kammies, Sinoxolo Kwayiba, Brooklyn Poggenpoel, Yanela Mbuthuma, Antonio van Wyk

HeraldLIVE