THEIR chances of making it to the knockout stage of the World Cup may look remote, but Bafana Bafana are not throwing in the towel.
THEIR chances of making it to the knockout stage of the World Cup may look remote, but Bafana Bafana are not throwing in the towel.
"We still have a game to play and we can't say we have failed to qualify for the next round," said captain Aaron "Mbazo" Mokoena.
"I'm therefore appealing to all our supporters to remain positive just like we are as we go into our crucial match against France on Tuesday.
"Football is a very funny game and the battle is not over. So for us is not over as we are still have a match on Tuesday.
"We are determined not to make history by becoming the first host team to bomb out of the group stages in the World Cup.
"Naturally, we are all disappointed with the outcome of the match against Uruguay, we should have done better.
"We did not play our normal game against Uruguay and it goes without saying that we need to quickly forget about what happened in that match and focus on the job at hand.
"It is important that we get the winning mentality back in the team.
"Our message to South Africans is that they must not lose hope because the tournament is not over for us. We should not forget that two teams from each group qualify for the second round and we could be among those teams"
The humble Bafana skipper, who has played a record 104 matches for Bafana, also commended South Africans for rallying behind the team.
"We are so honoured that the entire nation has been rallying behind the team since we started our final preparations.
"The South Africans have been wonderful, almost everybody that you come across has been proudly wearing the Bafana replica jersey.
"It makes us proud to see South Africans flying the flag from their cars, houses and places of work," he said.
Bafana will be without their suspended keeper Itumeleng Khune and midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi against Les Bleus tomorrow.
living in hope
THEIR chances of making it to the knockout stage of the World Cup may look remote, but Bafana Bafana are not throwing in the towel.
THEIR chances of making it to the knockout stage of the World Cup may look remote, but Bafana Bafana are not throwing in the towel.
"We still have a game to play and we can't say we have failed to qualify for the next round," said captain Aaron "Mbazo" Mokoena.
"I'm therefore appealing to all our supporters to remain positive just like we are as we go into our crucial match against France on Tuesday.
"Football is a very funny game and the battle is not over. So for us is not over as we are still have a match on Tuesday.
"We are determined not to make history by becoming the first host team to bomb out of the group stages in the World Cup.
"Naturally, we are all disappointed with the outcome of the match against Uruguay, we should have done better.
"We did not play our normal game against Uruguay and it goes without saying that we need to quickly forget about what happened in that match and focus on the job at hand.
"It is important that we get the winning mentality back in the team.
"Our message to South Africans is that they must not lose hope because the tournament is not over for us. We should not forget that two teams from each group qualify for the second round and we could be among those teams"
The humble Bafana skipper, who has played a record 104 matches for Bafana, also commended South Africans for rallying behind the team.
"We are so honoured that the entire nation has been rallying behind the team since we started our final preparations.
"The South Africans have been wonderful, almost everybody that you come across has been proudly wearing the Bafana replica jersey.
"It makes us proud to see South Africans flying the flag from their cars, houses and places of work," he said.
Bafana will be without their suspended keeper Itumeleng Khune and midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi against Les Bleus tomorrow.