Former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou feels Bafana Bafana are getting back to the level they were before, and believes they will do well in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco in December and the Fifa World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada next year.
What impresses the 40-year-old is the number of young players coming through the development structures and making a mark in the national teams.
Amajita and Amajimbos qualified for their respective junior World Cups, with the SA U-17 currently participating in Qatar and having progressed to the last 32.
Kalou said after Bafana were the surprise package in the previous edition in the Ivory Coast, they now stand an even better chance in Morocco. “The last Afcon, how they played, and went all the way to the semifinal, nobody expected them to be there,” he told Sowetan.
“If they can build on that, you get confidence in the team that qualified for the World Cup and have momentum. They’re a nation that is progressing; they have young talent and have players who were there before and also have a good coach [Hugo Broos]. Now, it is to find the balance between young and experienced players and create a great team.”
Bafana are in Group B with Angola, Egypt and Zimbabwe. They start the tournament against Angola on December 22, before facing Egypt four days later. “I think Bafana Bafana are getting back to the level that they showed us,” said Kalou.
“We know football here is big, and there are clubs with big programmes for youth academies. You know, it starts with the youth tournament. That’s how you develop local football, and I think SA is doing that very well.
“I won’t be surprised to see them go far in the Afcon because in the previous edition, they did very well in the Ivory Coast, and they were the surprise team. I will be putting my money on SA because they can again be the major surprise for this competition.”
With the Ivory Coast heading into Morocco as the defending champions, Kalou is positive his home country has a team capable of defending the title. “We are the ones with the cup right now. Other teams have to come and get it from us, and we are confident that we can keep it.”
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