Riveiro on importance of having more Pirates players in Bafana squad
Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has outlined the importance of having more of his players in the Bafana Bafana set-up.
This comes after seven of the Buccaneers players made it to Hugo Broos‘ 38-member preliminary squad for next month’s AFCON qualifiers against Uganda and South Sudan.
Bafana are set to face Uganda at Orlando Stadium on Friday, 06 September, with the kick-off scheduled for 18:00. Broos’ charges will then jet off to South Sudan after their clash with Uganda.
South Africa will lock horns with South Sudan on Tuesday, 10 September 2024. The kick-off time will be confirmed in due course.
THE SEVEN ORLANDO PIRATES PLAYERS IN THE BAFANA BAFANA PRELIMINARY SQUAD
The seven Pirates players that have been chosen by the Bafana coach in the preliminary squad are Sipho Chaine, Thabiso Monyane, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Relebohile Mofokeng, Thalente Mbatha, Patrick Maswanganyi, and Evidence Makgopa.
Riveiro revealed how having his players in the national has yielded fruitful results. He stated that it has helped in terms of the experience and maturity of his players.
He went on to single out Makgopa as one of the players whose game has improved after his participation at the last AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast.
“I think it’s important for them, and hopefully, we can have those seven players and more in the future. It’s very important to have the opportunity to play those games. It also gives you the responsibility to represent your national team,” said Riveiro.
“Obviously it’s going to push you to mature and have the capacity to play in those kinds of games [high competitive games].
“I think one clear example is Evidence Makgopa. I think his performance after the last AFCON, the player that we got back, is a different one. This is in terms of maturity and self-confidence.”
The Spanish mentor continued: “So, I would like to see the names of our players in the Bafana Bafana list. Definitely, that kind of experience is going to help them as individuals and us as a team.”
Broos is expected to announce his final 23-man squad in the next few days.
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