BAFANA Bafana are on track and will do well in the World Cup on home soil in June but they must not get too carried away after beating lowly Swaziland 6-2 in a training match in Durban on Saturday.
BAFANA Bafana are on track and will do well in the World Cup on home soil in June but they must not get too carried away after beating lowly Swaziland 6-2 in a training match in Durban on Saturday.
That was the view of Swaziland head coach and former Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba.
"I was impressed by the hunger and competition for places shown by Bafana. They looked good. But remember Swaziland are not Brazil. In fact, we are barely a semiprofessional country. We did our best but were well beaten," he said.
'This was a good learning curve for my team.
"But I am pleased to see Bafana are improving but they need to keep the momentum going. I believe they are on the right track and the camps and the friendly matches their coach (Carlos Alberto Parreira) has organised are good for the team and will help them gel and prepare for the World Cup."
Mashaba, who coached Bafana from August 2002 until January 2004 and won the Cosafa Cup during his tenure, said some of his Swazi players failed the big match temperament (BMT) test.
"In a game like this, we need players with very big BMT, not just ordinary players. But to be fair, I fielded some Under-20 internationals and they now know what it is like in the big league. At the end of the day it was too much for my players."
Mashaba said he was impressed with the way Bafana kept possession and with their pace on attack.
Swaziland captain Dennis Masina, who plays for Orlando Pirates, admitted his players were overawed by the Bafana players .
"Losing (conceding) those first-half goals was a killer," said Masina. - Sapa
Shakes backs Bafana
BAFANA Bafana are on track and will do well in the World Cup on home soil in June but they must not get too carried away after beating lowly Swaziland 6-2 in a training match in Durban on Saturday.
BAFANA Bafana are on track and will do well in the World Cup on home soil in June but they must not get too carried away after beating lowly Swaziland 6-2 in a training match in Durban on Saturday.
That was the view of Swaziland head coach and former Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba.
"I was impressed by the hunger and competition for places shown by Bafana. They looked good. But remember Swaziland are not Brazil. In fact, we are barely a semiprofessional country. We did our best but were well beaten," he said.
'This was a good learning curve for my team.
"But I am pleased to see Bafana are improving but they need to keep the momentum going. I believe they are on the right track and the camps and the friendly matches their coach (Carlos Alberto Parreira) has organised are good for the team and will help them gel and prepare for the World Cup."
Mashaba, who coached Bafana from August 2002 until January 2004 and won the Cosafa Cup during his tenure, said some of his Swazi players failed the big match temperament (BMT) test.
"In a game like this, we need players with very big BMT, not just ordinary players. But to be fair, I fielded some Under-20 internationals and they now know what it is like in the big league. At the end of the day it was too much for my players."
Mashaba said he was impressed with the way Bafana kept possession and with their pace on attack.
Swaziland captain Dennis Masina, who plays for Orlando Pirates, admitted his players were overawed by the Bafana players .
"Losing (conceding) those first-half goals was a killer," said Masina. - Sapa
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