Crunch time for Bafana

There are still questions surrounding Bafana Bafana’s readiness for the African Cup of nations tournament,will they rise to the occasion?

After months of playing friendly matches and making relevant preparations, Bafana Bafana will now have to convince the nation that they are ready to conquer the continent when the African Cup of Nations off tomorrow, January 19, at the National Stadium in Johannesburg.

Bafana takes on the Cape Verede in the opening tomorrow at 18:00. Concerns over the squad compilation and the team’s tactical combinations on the field have been widely raised from various quarters. Among others, the combination of Dean Furman and Kagisho Dikgacoi has been queried, with the former’s effectiveness in the team also being questioned.

The lack of goals upfront is also a concern that has taken centre-stage with the likes of Katlego Mphela firing blanks, while lacking adequate support from midfielders such as Lerato Chabangu, who drops in too deep in a more defensive role, instead of giving the striker sufficient ball supplies.

The combination of Siyabonga Sangweni and Bafana Bafana captain, Bongani Khumalo has also come under scrutiny, while midfield maestro, Siphiwe Tshabalala, keeps fluctuating in form.

This is only the second time South Africa hosts the prestigious continental tournament and the pressure is mounting on the national team and its newly appointed Bafana Bafana coach, Gordon Igesund, to deliver the coveted trophy. The squad is under pressured to emulate the historical achievement of the 1996 Bafana Bafana squad, which won the tournament on home soil.

Bafana Bafana’s 1996 feat serves as a benchmark for the squad of 2013, and the current squad is carrying the heavy burden of expectation from all its supporters across the country, as they also play host to Africa’s football heavyweights once again.

Heavyweights such as Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and the defending champions, Zambia, are surely going to provide some scintillating football in an intense battle for continental glory.

The second coming of the tournament to South Africa saw Bafana Bafana qualify automatically as the host nation, but the team has a steep mountain to climb if it is to deliver on the expectations of the entire country’s football supporters.

South Africa was seeded in group A and will come up against Angola, Cape Verde and Morocco in the group stages.

Bafana Bafana was lucky to have avoided the abovementioned African football heavyweights, but it is still very hard to predict whether it will be smooth sailing in the opening group matches.

The hosts game against Cape Verde is expected to be an entertaining encounter that will effectively set the tone for the 29th edition of Africa’s biggest n football showpiece. Bafana Bafana will then face Angola on January 23 in the team’s second group match, before locking horns with Morocco on January 27 in the final group fixture.

The squads for the opening match of the AFCO 2013 tomorrow are as follows:
South Africa:
Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune, Wayne Sandilands, Senzo Meyiwa
Defenders: Anele Ngcongca, Siboniso Gaxa, Tsepo Masilela, Thabo Matlaba, Siyabonga Sangweni, Bongani Khumalo, Thabo Nthethe
Midfielders: Thulani Serero, Lerato Chabangu, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Dean Furman, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Phala, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, May Mahlangu, Oupa Manyisa
Strikers: Bernard Parker, Katlego Mphela, Tokelo Rantie, Lehlohonolo Majoro
Cape Verde:
Goalkeepers: Fock, Rilly, Vozinha Defenders: Carlitos, Fernando Varela, Gege, Guy Ramos, Josimar, Nando, Nivaldo, Pecks Midfielders: Babanco, David Silva, Marco Soares, Platini, Roni, Stenio, Toni Varela Strikers: Djaniny, Heldon, Julio Tavares, Ryan Mendes, Rambe

Group A team profiles

South Africa
If the pre-tournament friendly matches that Bafana Bafana played in the last few months are anything to go by, then the South African team probably faces an uphill task in the continental showpiece.
In the last two friendly matches before the tournament, South Africa lost to Norway and drew with Algeria, but did display some brilliant tactics and nifty footwork in both matches.

Ranked 84th in the world, Bafana Bafana are the lowest ranked team in the group but the team’s head coach, Gordon Igesund, believes what he calls his ‘Dream Team’ has what it takes to become African champions for the second time on home soil.

Morocco
The 2015 hosts of the AFCON tournament, Morocco, will definitely provide some stiff challenge in Group A and it can almost be guaranteed that they will definitely make it out of the group stages.
The Moroccans have a lot of AFCON experience as they have participated in the competition no less than 14 times. In 2004, Morocco finished as runner-ups of the AFCON competition, beating the likes of Nigeria and Benin in the group stages to finish behind the then eventual champions, Tunisia.

Morocco has, as a matter of fact, won all the AFCON medals before. They won the tournament in 1972; finished third in 1980, before claiming the silver medal in 2004. In
contrast to their current 72nd FIFA world ranking, Morocco ranked 10th in the world in 1998, which is the country’s highest ranking ever. Referred to as the Lions of the Atlas, the capricious Moroccan team is surely going to put on a good show at this year’s tournament.

Angola
Ironically, Angola were drawn in the same group as Bafana Bafana back in 1996 and history has therefore repeated itself as the two countries have been drawn in the same group once again. The AFCON 1996 was Angola’s tournament debut and the team failed to make it out of the group stages that year.

The ‘Palancas Negras’ (the Sable Antelopes) will now make their sixth AFCON appearance and are yet to win their first continental title. Despite lacking glory, the Angolans have shown some major improvements in their tournament participation over the years.

The star player to watch in the Angolan team is the 29-year-old Manucho, who plays for Spanish football club Real Valladolid. The lethal left-footed player has netted 21 goals in his 38 appearances for the Palancas Negras.

Cape Verde
Bafana Bafana’s opening match opponents, Cape Verde go in as the tournament’s underdogs. The 2013 AFCON will be the islanders’ debut tournament and they go in after claiming one of the biggest scalps in African football to qualify for the tournament; namely, Cameroon
The islanders go into the tournament without the team’s key defender, Ricardo, who opted to rather fulfil his Portuguese club, Pacos Ferreira’s obligations ahead of representing his country at the AFCON 2013. Cape Verde suffered further setbacks when striker, Ze Luis, and midfielder, Odair Fortes pulled out of the squad. Ze Luis apparently pulled out because of personal reasons, while Odair is out because of an injury.

Despite these exclusions, Cape Verde will still prove to be a force to be reckoned with in the tournament. The country’s national football team is ranked 63 on the FIFA rankings, which is 21 places above the tournament hosts Bafana Bafana.