Stellies’ Barker calls on players to stake Afcon claim in Carling Knockout final

Stellenbosch head coach Steve Barker believes a good performance in the Carling Knockout final on Saturday can help his three Bafana Bafana players seal their places at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Jayden Adams, Fawaaz Basadien and Iqraam Rayners were all named by Hugo Broos this week in a 50-man preliminary squad, which the Bafana head coach will have to trim down to 23 players by January 3.

Stellenbosch have a chance to claim a first ever piece of Premier Soccer League knockout silverware when they face TS Galaxy at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

“It’s nice for us to have three players named in the preliminary squad in the form of Fawaaz, Iqraam, and Jayden,” said Barker at a press conference this week ahead of the final.

“Knowing all three players, they are consistently good performers, and being in that squad is an opportunity for them to make the AFCON squad, which I’m sure is every player’s dream.

“I do believe that they will go out, put their best foot forward, and deliver the best performance that they can (against TS Galaxy) and hopefully that will be enough for them to make the final squad.

“There are one or two other players who I believe might have deserved to have been included who may be disappointed, but I keep telling the players that you can only keep doing your best and performing every game.

“By doing that they will get recognition, and slowly we are getting that recognition and I am pleased for those who have been selected. Hopefully, we can get some into the final squad.”

‘Real Quality’

“…For me, Fawaaz Basadien has deserved an opportunity for many months now. He has real quality in terms of his technique, the way he manipulates the ball, and he is just a quality player,” Barker added.

“Iqraam Rayners scores goals. You need players who score goals, whether they’re starting or coming on in matches, and he fully deserves his opportunity, as does Jayden Adams. Jayden has shown remarkable consistency as a young player with the quality that he has, and all of their inclusions are exciting for us.”