Former Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Farouk Khan has expressed his biggest concern regarding Bafana Bafana ahead of their crucial match against Benin.
South Africa will face Benin in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in Ivory Coast on Tuesday, 25 March 2025.
The Cheetahs are hosting Bafana in Abidjan as none of their stadiums meet the CAF’s requirements to host international matches.
Bafana are heading into the match against Benin high on confidence after claiming a 2-0 victory over Lesotho at a packed New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane this past Friday.
On the other hand, the West African nation played to an entertaining 2-2 draw against Zimbabwe on Thursday in Durban. After Benin dropped points, Hugo Broos‘ charges moved to the summit of Group C of the World Cup qualifiers with 10 points after five matches.
FAROUK KHAN UNHAPPY WITH BAFANA’S FINISHING IN THE FINAL THIRD
With the 1996 AFCON winners aiming to collect maximum points against Benin, ex-Chiefs coach Farouk Khan says Bafana will have to fix their shortcomings in the final third.
The 2023 AFCON medalists were wasteful in front of goal after creating a handful of goal-scoring opportunities but only managed to score two goals through Relebohile Mofokeng and Jayden Adams in the second half.
“I think the performance against Lesotho was good; we kept the ball very well and created big chances. My biggest concern is that we didn’t finish those chances,” said Khan on SoccerBeat Podcast.
“For me, when you have opponents like Lesotho, you have to put them to the sword. It’s important to gain confidence, I mean we expect more from players like Lyle Foster because he plays in the Championship in England but he wasn’t on song.
“The highlight in the match was Rele Mofokeng and Jayden; I mean, these are young players, and they were outstanding. Senior players have to lead by example. Let’s hope this was just a bad day in the office.
“Let’s hope in the next match we can put the shooting boots on because I don’t have a problem with how the coach set up his team; I think they’re solid in defence.”
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