Only a Cosafa Cup triumph will do for Bafana

Bafana Bafana caretaker coach Morena Ramoreboli says his side’s impressive performance in the group stages of the 2021 Cosafa Cup will mean nothing if they do not go on and win the competition.

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South Africa will play Mozambique in the semifinals on Friday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha (kick off 2pm), after topping Group A with 10 points from four matches, in which a young Bafana side containing hardly any regular squad members did not concede a single goal.

Bafana, who have also had to cope without coach Helman Mkhalele, who tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the tournament, beat Botswana and Swaziland 1-0, before hammering Lesotho 4-0, finishing off Group A on Wednesday with a goalless draw against Zambia.

If they can get past Mozambique, Bafana will play either guest side Senegal or Swaziland in the final on Sunday.

“The competition becomes tougher now in the knockout stages,” said Ramoreboli after the Zambia game.

“No one will remember a Bafana who played without conceding a goal in the group stage, if we don’t win the semifinal and the final.”

South Africa do have a poor recent record in the Cosafa Cup, having not won the competition since 2016, also the last time Bafana reached the final.

“No one remembers the losing team, the champions always get the respect,” added Ramoreboli.

“We need to double our efforts and raise the bar, whether a performance is good or excellent it is never enough.”

Mozambique drew with Zimbabwe in their opening Cosafa Cup match and then lost to Senegal, but wins over Malawi and Namibia in their final two group games were enough to get them into the semifinals.

“There is not much information (on Mozambique) that one can reveal now, but when they were playing matches (in Group B), we had time to watch,” added Ramoreboli.

“At the moment it is about sitting down and getting proper analysis. Mozambique will not just be representing their country, they will be trying hard to push us out.”