Veteran coach Sunday Chidzambwa has tipped Bafana Bafana to easily march out of the 2023 AFCON group phase but only if they thwart one threat.
Widely regarded as the most successful coach in Zimbabwe, Chidzambwa led the neighbours, the Warriors, to the AFCON finals three times.
He was the coach when the Warriors of Zimbabwe made their first qualification to AFCON, which was hosted by Tunisia in 2004.
Coincidentally, South Africa is in the same group as Tunisia, along with Mali and Namibia, in this CAF tournament set to be staged in Ivory Coast from 13 January.
THE MAIN THREAT BAFANA BAFANA ARE FACING IN GROUP E
With his vast experience, veteran coach Sunday Chidzambwa tipped the Hugo Broos-coached side to top Group E. But that solely depends on how they fare against Tunisia, who he believes pose the real threat in the group.
“For me, South Africa has a big chance to be on top of that group. The only real threat might come from Tunisia,” Chidzambwa told FARPost. “They [S.A] have the potential to beat them. Mali is almost at their level now, so things can be easy if SA matches the physicality of the West Africans.
“Some of the teams are no longer what they used to be back in the days. In terms of quality, I think they [Bafana] are at the same level and with a little bit of character, they can easily beat Mali.
“Namibia can cause an upset, but to be honest, they are below South Africa in all respects. The quality of players and style of play. So a good result against Tunisia can determine a lot for them [S.A].
“I know how North African teams play. They struggle against teams with character and confidence. For example, the character and confidence of the [Mamelodi] Sundowns captain [Themba Zwane].”
CHIDZAMBWA OUTLINES HUGO BROOS’ ADVANTAGE
Chidzambwa, who also has a proud record in the COSAFA tournament, where he has never lost a game in that competition, added: “The main advantage is that they [Bafana] have fewer players coming from abroad. What’s good about them is that the bulk of their players are locally based.
“The players know each other, or they played in the same team at some point. And the style of play locally is almost similar.
“That is unlike Mali and Tunisia, who have more players abroad. If they manage to garner confidence, they can easily be the number one team in that group,” concluded the former Black Leopards coach.
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