Mkhalele warns Bafana to expect wounded Mozambique to fight

Bafana Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele has warned his charges to expect Mozambique to fight like wounded soldiers in Wednesday’s Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup quarterfinal match in Durban.

Mkhalele was speaking in a pre-match interview ahead of the quarterfinal match at King Zwelithini Stadium [17h00], where Bafana Bafana will start their Cosafa Cup title defence against the Mambas.

He said the Mambas would be out for revenge after losing 3-0 to Bafana Bafana in the semifinal of the last edition of the cup.

“One of the elements that we focused on is we worked on the mental part to make sure that the players are aware that we are coming up against an opponent that is wounded. When you look at the score line, how we beat them in the semifinal of the last edition, we know that they are mentally motivated,” he said.

Mkhalele observed that Mozambique were aggressive and physical opponents.

“We want to make sure that since we want to defend the trophy, we look at the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents and one strength in their physicality. We are working on a plan to counter that, and when it comes to tactical application, they have got some good players,” he said.

The former Bafana Bafana winger also disclosed that he had agreed with head coach Hugo Broos to use the Cosafa Cup as a platform for grooming players for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and Olympic qualifiers.

“We are excited, especially myself, to work with this young group of players because when we sat down with Hugo Broos, we said we need to come up with a plan not only for us Bafana Bafana but also helping the under-23 because they don’t have time to get together to prepare for the qualifiers for the Olympics in September,” he said.

“So let us start now preparing our under-23. We also want to increase the big pool of players that can qualify to participate in the Nations Cup qualifiers against Liberia in September. So, it is an exciting project for me because we are not focusing on one sector but also on the bigger picture.”

The other semifinal for Wednesday involves Namibia and Madagascar in Durban.

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