South Africa will take on Malawi in a training match on May 20, just days before they start their Cosafa Cup campaign.
Both teams enter the May 17-30 competition at the quarterfinal stage and so are not involved in the first week of the tournament.
South Africa play Botswana in a quarterfinal game at Moruleng Stadium, on May 24, while Malawi play Mozambique a day later at Olympia Park in Rustenburg. But before that Bafana will tackle The Flames in a training game that at this stage is their only warm-up fixture for the regional championship.
Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba will use the competition to look at players from the lower divisions and promising youngsters .
The make-up of the team will therefore have an unfamiliar look to it with the South African Football Association (Safa) having until April 30 to submit their squad. The fact that the country's under-23 side will no longer be playing at the same time as the Cosafa Cup after their 2015 CAF Under-23 Championship qualifier was moved to July, had re-opened the possibility that Safa may send that squad to the Southern African tournament.
It would then be led by under-23 coach Owen da Gama and would still rely on Premier Soccer League clubs releasing their top talent at the end of what has been a long campaign.
But it appears as though that has now been dismissed and Mashaba will instead lead a band of virtual unknowns.
It was a tactic deployed in 2008 and 2009, with South Africa triumphing in the former tournament as Marchelino Fransch bagged a brace in a 2-0 win over Mozambique in the final.
Bafana to meet Malawi in pre-Cosafa training game
South Africa will take on Malawi in a training match on May 20, just days before they start their Cosafa Cup campaign.
Both teams enter the May 17-30 competition at the quarterfinal stage and so are not involved in the first week of the tournament.
South Africa play Botswana in a quarterfinal game at Moruleng Stadium, on May 24, while Malawi play Mozambique a day later at Olympia Park in Rustenburg. But before that Bafana will tackle The Flames in a training game that at this stage is their only warm-up fixture for the regional championship.
Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba will use the competition to look at players from the lower divisions and promising youngsters .
The make-up of the team will therefore have an unfamiliar look to it with the South African Football Association (Safa) having until April 30 to submit their squad. The fact that the country's under-23 side will no longer be playing at the same time as the Cosafa Cup after their 2015 CAF Under-23 Championship qualifier was moved to July, had re-opened the possibility that Safa may send that squad to the Southern African tournament.
It would then be led by under-23 coach Owen da Gama and would still rely on Premier Soccer League clubs releasing their top talent at the end of what has been a long campaign.
But it appears as though that has now been dismissed and Mashaba will instead lead a band of virtual unknowns.
It was a tactic deployed in 2008 and 2009, with South Africa triumphing in the former tournament as Marchelino Fransch bagged a brace in a 2-0 win over Mozambique in the final.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos