Bafana Bafana goalkeeper coach Grant Johnson has identified their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) opening match against Angola on December 22 as a key fixture they need to win to have a chance of progressing to the knockout stage.
SA and Angola are in Group B alongside Egypt and Zimbabwe.
Johnson told the media during the Castle Lager and Bafana Afcon send-off at FNB Stadium yesterday that, if they were to progress to the next stage, they must start the tournament with a win.
In the previous edition, SA started with a defeat to Mali in the opening match, something Johnson said they need to avoid at all costs, as they are in a difficult group. “We don’t want anything less than [a win against Angola] because the second game [against Egypt] is going to be a very difficult one,” he said.
”Zimbabwe are not easy; it doesn’t matter which competition it is. But the Angola game is key and we need to win that one.”
Johnson is also banking on the senior players’ previous experience in this competition, saying it will be crucial this time as they look to do better than their third-place finish in the Ivory Coast.
“The senior players in the squad are key to the team because they have been in the previous Afcon and they have experience,” he said.
The senior players in the squad are key to the team because they have been in the previous Afcon and they have experience
— Grant Johnson, Bafana Bafana goalkeeper
“They know what they are doing, and they have accepted the young players who are coming into the squad and guided them. So, the core of the team remained the same and that’s key to the current squad.”
With teams having analysed goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and how he has been playing for both Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns, Johnson said there could be surprises about how they will play in Morocco.
“In the last couple of years, and the last Afcon, teams have been analysing him, how he plays and what he does. But the most important aspect is how he leads the team, the tempo, the speed of play, whether we are going to play from the back or play longer; Ronwen creates that,” said Johnson.
Sowetan
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