The decision to play Lesotho, who have a world ranking of 148, was met with scepticism since fans felt it would be a waste of time for South Africa, who are 66th in the Fifa rankings.
Bafana Bafana will fine-tune their Africa Cup of Nations preparations with a friendly behind closed doors against lowly Lesotho in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The decision to play Lesotho, who have a world ranking of 148, was met with scepticism since fans felt it would be a waste of time for South Africa, who are 66th in the Fifa rankings.
“It was not easy to find opponents who could come to South Africa to play friendlies against us,” said Bafana coach Hugo Broos at a media conference on Monday.
“At one stage we thought of taking the camp to Cameroon but there were budget constraints. The closer you move to Ivory Coast the more likely you will find teams to play friendlies.
Press conference concluded, where coach Hugo Broos and players Ronwen Williams (C) and Thabang Monare shared their camp experience so far as well as looking ahead to the preparation game for #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 #AFCON2023 #CAN2023 against Lesotho, tomorrow. #BafanaPride pic.twitter.com/QgaALlAmKu
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) January 9, 2024
“I’m happy with what we have now and we’ll try to play a good game on Wednesday. For me, the result is not important. We know what we have been doing here for the past few days, and we’re happy to have that game.
“Lesotho is not a bad opponent.” The heatwave that gripped parts of the Western Cape has been both good and bad for Bafana Bafana who have been in camp for the past few days at the university town of Stellenbosch.
Broos said the extreme heatwave has restricted the amount of work he can do with the players. On the other hand, however, the high temperatures are similar to those found in Ivory Coast, and the players will have a chance to acclimatise to the heat.
Heat may help
According to Broos, the temperature in the Winelands yesterday was an energy-sapping 35°C, similar to the temperature in Korhogo, the city in northern Ivory Coast where the team will be based.
“We are very happy with the facilities at the university (of Stellenbosch) and the pitch is first class. We can’t ask for more.
“I would have liked it to be less warm but okay, it will be good preparation for Ivory Coast. The daily temperatures in Korhogo will be around 35°C and after a few days here (in Stellenbosch) we will be used to it.
“This weather can be exhausting at the same (time) and we must take care that we do not do too much in this heat.”
Broos said he feared for the wellbeing of the players after the Premier Soccer League declined his request to stop the league earlier so that players could arrive fresh for the national team camp.
On a previous occasion, Broos said players arrived exhausted at a camp and he feared this would impact on the amount of work he could do with the players.
“Last May, I wrote to the PSL to ask about stopping the league early so that players will not be exhausted by the time we go into camp,” said Broos.
“As it turned out, the players had four days off before reporting for camp but that was not enough.
“As you know, for the PSL there are more important things than the national team. It is not something I can understand.
“When you see how late they allowed play to continue into December, and they said in a statement that they support Bafana Bafana and the coach, then I had to laugh.
“But it is what it is, and we’ll see that the guys will be fresh when they play on the 16th (of January) for our first game.”
Talisman Percy Tau, who will shoulder the responsibility of leading the team’s attack in the absence of Burnley marksman Lyle Foster, said the team is determined to make the country proud in Ivory Coast.
“It’s always difficult for us to satisfy the public, but we’ve always wanted to be a team that could try and compete,” said Tau.
“The last time I went to Afcon in Egypt, we wanted to compete and try our best to go all the way. It is the same with this team and that determination has not changed.
“But people have different opinions about the process we’re in because they say this based on missing out on the last tournament. We understand that, but we want to go all the way.”
IOL Sport
