Newly appointed Botswana head coach Mogomotsi Mpote feels he knows what to expect from Bafana Bafana ahead of Tuesday night’s [18:00] international friendly at the FNB Stadium.
The Zebras mentor believes Hugo Broos’ side will try to use their pace to exploit his side on the counter-attack, as they did so effectively in their 4-0 win over Sierra Leone this past Saturday.
A series of lightening quick breaks left Sierra Leone exposed during both halves and Mpote appreciates the threat Bafana pose.
Mpete believes South Africa’s pace can be a problem but says his side must ensure they get a positive result as they take this game seriously in preparations for the AFCON qualifiers.
He went on to express his gratitude to SAFA to have invited them to play Bafana which will be a big motivation to his troops and the game will help them to improve their FIFA rankings.
MPOTE SPEAKS…
“This a very important game as you know we are preparing for the AFCON next and just to try the boys [combinations] because some of the boys who are in the setup are promoted from the U23,” he told the media.
“I’m so happy for the fact that South Africa recognised Botswana to come and play with them.
“One would say playing Bafana Bafana and having some of the boys who have been admiring some of the players in Bafana Bafana is very massive support from South Africans to Botswana for this kind of preparation.
“We are looking forward to the game obviously. We saw Bafana playing against Sierra Leone and I can tell that we saw a lot of positives in them.
“We are saying it’s good for us because it will prepare us for our AFCON game. We intend to give our best more especially when we are playing these games.
“There is no small team these days. We are all in the same page and the world has changed we also change.
“We look at this game as a tie one of which will also help us improve our rankings as we are far from other countries.
“So, we are trying to push so that in future we are at least in the top 30 because it will help when you are looking for friendly games.”
