Bafana look to regain trust from fans with more Afcon heroics

Bafana Bafana became the toast of the nation over the weekend, following an epic victory to oust hosts Egypt at the Round of 16 stage of the 2019 African Cup of Nations (Afcon), and captain Thulani Hlatshwayo believes the performance was proof that they can deliver.

Stuart Baxter’s men had an unconvincing journey to the second round, where they picked up one victory – scoring once – to slip through to the knockouts.

Despite going through, the much-maligned team was still the subject of much criticism, mostly due to the manner in which they had progressed in the tournament.

All-or-nothing approach paid off

However, a much-improved display on Saturday in front of packed Cairo International Stadium, capped with a last-gasp goal from Thembinkosi Lorch brought back the excitement among the fans and, according to Hlatshwayo, it was a needed injection of confidence to the team.

“This year’s continental tournament has been tough and making it into the Last 16 was a goal many did not expect us to reach,” Hlatshwayo is quoted on the Safa website.

“We knew coming into the game with Egypt that we had to bring heroics. We had to prove to everyone, and more importantly, to our nation and to ourselves, that we could deliver

“Our preparation for that game was intense, we knew we had to give it everything we had, and it paid off.”

Thulani Hlatshwayo

Bafana eye top honours

Bafana are yet to make it past the quarterfinal stage since finishing third in 2000, where they were eliminated in the last four by their next opponents Nigeria.

The two sides were drawn in the same group during the qualifiers, with South Africa registering a 2-0 win in the away leg before a 1-1 stalemate at FNB Stadium.

Despite the considerable hurdle posed by the Super Eagles, Hlatshwayo is eyeing top honours for his side.

“We’ve now made it into the Afcon quarterfinals for the sixth time in our history,” he added.

“This gives us an opportunity to really chase our dream to win.

“Our next game is against Nigeria, our biggest rival team. We know playing them will be tough, but we have a clear understanding of our mission, and we’ll give it our all once again.

“This is an opportunity for us to regain trust from the fans, to truly discover our identity and to have confidence in our capabilities.

“As the captain, I’m confident in the team and what we can achieve.”

Thulani Hlatshwayo

The quarterfinal match between Nigeria and South Africa kicks off at 21:00 on Wednesday.