Bafana Bafana will use the four-nations tournament starting today at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Zambia to “learn and win”, so says head coach Stuart Baxter.
One of the players who will be responsible for guiding the youngsters in the team is Ramahlwe Mphahlele, the former captain of SA’s junior teams and he’s relishing the challenge.
“It’s our responsibility as a team to make sure that we do well,” Mphahlele stated.
“Yes, we come from a very big setback as a country [failing to qualify for this year’s World Cup], as Bafana Bafana and as a footballer, you have to dust yourself off and move on. So we don’t want the youngsters that are coming in to find us with our heads down. We have to lead the way and give them confidence,” he said.
Mphahlele, however, made it clear during his interaction with the media ahead of the tournament that talk is cheap and Bafana must prove their worth on the pitch.
“It’s never easy playing countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola, because they know they want to beat South Africa. They know that we have good players, but we have to show it on the day that we are good enough and apply ourselves, work hard and win.
“If they are really small countries, then beat them and you can talk. For now, we are just going out there to fight and win games,” said the 28-year-old.
SA have met Angola 13 times; winning nine, losing just once and drawing three matches. SA are ranked 15th on the continent and Angola are placed 41st.
The hosts Zambia will face Zimbabwe in the first match at 1pm and SA’s clash against Angola is pencilled for 3pm.
Since the two nations first met in 1996, Bafana have won nine, lost one and drew three against the Palancas Negras.
SA v Angola record
SA 1-0 Angola [Afcon tournament, 1996]
Angola 0-0 SA [Afcon tournament, 1998]
SA 1-0 Angola [Afcon qualifier, 1998]
Angola 2-2 SA [[Afcon qualifier, 1999]
SA 1-0 Angola [Friendly, 2002]
Angola 1-1 SA [Afcon tournament, 2008]
SA 2-0 Angola [Cosafa Cup, 2009]
SA 2-0 Angola [Afcon tournament, 2013]
SA 2-1 Angola [Friendly, 2015]
SA 0-2 Angola [Friendly, 2015]
Angola 1-2 SA [Friendly, 2015]
Angola 1-3 SA [World Cup qualifier, 2015]
SA 1-0 Angola [World Cup qualifier, 2015].
TOTAL: SA 9 wins, Angola 1 and 3 draws.
Bafana to use tournament to 'learn and win', says Baxter
Image: BackpagePix
Bafana Bafana will use the four-nations tournament starting today at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Zambia to “learn and win”, so says head coach Stuart Baxter.
One of the players who will be responsible for guiding the youngsters in the team is Ramahlwe Mphahlele, the former captain of SA’s junior teams and he’s relishing the challenge.
“It’s our responsibility as a team to make sure that we do well,” Mphahlele stated.
“Yes, we come from a very big setback as a country [failing to qualify for this year’s World Cup], as Bafana Bafana and as a footballer, you have to dust yourself off and move on. So we don’t want the youngsters that are coming in to find us with our heads down. We have to lead the way and give them confidence,” he said.
Mphahlele, however, made it clear during his interaction with the media ahead of the tournament that talk is cheap and Bafana must prove their worth on the pitch.
“It’s never easy playing countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola, because they know they want to beat South Africa. They know that we have good players, but we have to show it on the day that we are good enough and apply ourselves, work hard and win.
“If they are really small countries, then beat them and you can talk. For now, we are just going out there to fight and win games,” said the 28-year-old.
SA have met Angola 13 times; winning nine, losing just once and drawing three matches. SA are ranked 15th on the continent and Angola are placed 41st.
The hosts Zambia will face Zimbabwe in the first match at 1pm and SA’s clash against Angola is pencilled for 3pm.
Since the two nations first met in 1996, Bafana have won nine, lost one and drew three against the Palancas Negras.
SA v Angola record
SA 1-0 Angola [Afcon tournament, 1996]
Angola 0-0 SA [Afcon tournament, 1998]
SA 1-0 Angola [Afcon qualifier, 1998]
Angola 2-2 SA [[Afcon qualifier, 1999]
SA 1-0 Angola [Friendly, 2002]
Angola 1-1 SA [Afcon tournament, 2008]
SA 2-0 Angola [Cosafa Cup, 2009]
SA 2-0 Angola [Afcon tournament, 2013]
SA 2-1 Angola [Friendly, 2015]
SA 0-2 Angola [Friendly, 2015]
Angola 1-2 SA [Friendly, 2015]
Angola 1-3 SA [World Cup qualifier, 2015]
SA 1-0 Angola [World Cup qualifier, 2015].
TOTAL: SA 9 wins, Angola 1 and 3 draws.
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