A former Bafana Bafana striker has rated South Africa’s chances of winning the 2023 CAF AFCON tournament due to be held in Ivory Coast.
The AFCON competition will kick off on Saturday, 13 January to Sunday, 11 February 2024, with the tournament consisting of 24 nations.
Hugo Broos‘ charges are pitted in Group E alongside Tunisia, Mali, and neighbours Namibia.
On Wednesday, 10 January, Bafana played out to a 0-0 draw in their behind-closed-doors training match against Lesotho at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville.
The goalless draw left many football fanatics wondering if Broos’ troops have what it takes to go head-to-head with other strong nations at the AFCON tournament.
KATLEGO MPHELA ON BAFANA BAFANA CHANCES OF WINNING AFCON
The ex-Bafana striker Katlego ‘Killer’ Mphela is not certain that Broos’ boys will get the job looking at the current national team squad.
He believes that South Africa still has a lot of work to do in terms of the personnel the squad possesses.
“I think we still have a lot of work to do. Especially, if you look at the players or the personnel that we have,” Mphela told FARPost.
“With my experience, AFCON is a very difficult tournament to play because of the environment. Bafana wants to play on the ground, so my worry is that do they have the heart to go and fight in a difficult environment against those West African teams, you know big boys.
“Also, where are we going to get our goals? Because I look at the squad, okay you have your Percy Tau and Themba Zwane okay it’s fine. But they are not the players that will get you goals in that kind of tournament.”
The retired footballer continued: “I don’t think so, because you play after two days and your best striker [Lyle Foster] is not in the squad as well. But you can always come back to tell me that you have an experienced coach who has won the AFCON tournament before. So, he knows what he’s doing.
Bafana will depart for Ivory Coast on Thursday, 11 January 2024 for the much-awaited AFCON tournament.
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