Bafana receive major boost ahead of AFCON opener against Mali
Bafana Bafana have received a major boost ahead of their highly-anticipated 2023 AFCON opener in Ivory Coast against Mali.
The 34th edition of AFCON kicked off Saturday, 13 January, as host nation Ivory Coast beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 at a packed Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
Bafana, who are the 1996 AFCON champions, will open their Group E campaign on Tuesday, 16 January, when they take on Mali at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium. Kickoff is at 10pm [SA time zone].
The other two teams South Africa will face in the group stages are neighbours Namibia and North African side Tunisia.
With the full complement of players returning to training, optimism is growing within the Bafana Bafana camp. On Saturday, SAFA confirmed that Ronwen Williams, Themba Zwane and Mothobi Mvala all took part in training at Lycee Modern de Korhogo.
BAFANA BAFANA WELCOMES BACK THEMBA ZWANE, RONWEN WILLIAMS AND MOTHOBI MVALA
The three players missed the preparatory match against Lesotho on Wednesday at Lucas Moripe Stadium before the national team flew to Ivory Coast on Thursday. The duo of Williams and Zwane sat on the bench and were unused substitutes due to minor injuries.
As for Mvala, he was a notable absentee, as he didn’t even make it to the matchday squad. This was due to a groin injury he sustained during a training session.
“Training at Lycee Modern de Korhogo, which is the training facility assigned to team South Africa, boasted all the amenities needed to prepare for the AFCON,” said SAFA in a statement.
“Players like Ronwen Williams, Themba Zwane and Mothobi Mvala were back on the pitch, pushing towards their next goal, to be in the line-up when the team play their first game against Mali in a few days time.”
SA will be aiming to leave a mark at the 34th edition of the tournament. They make a return after missing out on the 2021 finals – hosted in Cameroon.
Against Mali, Hugo Broos and his troops will be aiming to get back to winning ways. They lost 2-0 against Rwanda in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. On Wednesday, they played out to a 0-0 draw against Lesotho in a friendly match.
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