Bafana Bafana will be without midfielder Teboho Mokoena when they host Botswana in the 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) second leg qualifier at Moruleng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday.
Mokoena's club, SuperSport United, have withdrawn the player from the Bafana squad and his place has been taken by his teammate Michael Morton, who has already reported for national team duty.
Though he will not be part of the action on Saturday, Mokoena has asked his teammates to tread very carefully against the Zebras and defend their 2-0 lead from the first leg in Botswana at the weekend.
"Yes, the lead is an advantage but it doesn't mean much," he said.
"If we were able to score two goals away, then it certainly means they can do the same.
"We have to treat this as a new ball game where the score is 0-0.
"We should have the same mentality as we had in the first leg so we can win again. We need to defend well, keep a clean sheet and that will help us proceed further in the qualifiers."
Looking back at their 2-0 win in Francistown, Mokoena said they played according to the coach's plan and wanted the result more than Botswana did.
"It was a tough match but we were able to manage it very well by following the coach's instructions, and that's how we were victorious," added Mokoena. - TimesLIVE
United recall Mokoena from Bafana camp
Bafana Bafana will be without midfielder Teboho Mokoena when they host Botswana in the 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) second leg qualifier at Moruleng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday.
Mokoena's club, SuperSport United, have withdrawn the player from the Bafana squad and his place has been taken by his teammate Michael Morton, who has already reported for national team duty.
Though he will not be part of the action on Saturday, Mokoena has asked his teammates to tread very carefully against the Zebras and defend their 2-0 lead from the first leg in Botswana at the weekend.
"Yes, the lead is an advantage but it doesn't mean much," he said.
"If we were able to score two goals away, then it certainly means they can do the same.
"We have to treat this as a new ball game where the score is 0-0.
"We should have the same mentality as we had in the first leg so we can win again. We need to defend well, keep a clean sheet and that will help us proceed further in the qualifiers."
Looking back at their 2-0 win in Francistown, Mokoena said they played according to the coach's plan and wanted the result more than Botswana did.
"It was a tough match but we were able to manage it very well by following the coach's instructions, and that's how we were victorious," added Mokoena. - TimesLIVE
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