‘Bafana must bring A game to beat Nigeria’

Bafana Bafana pair of Grant Kekana and Aubrey Modiba have concurred that only a top-notch display is required to overcome old rivals Nigeria.

Bafana and Nigeria will renew their long-standing rivalry when they trade blows in the much-hyped Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) semifinal tie at Stade de la Paix in Bouaké, Ivory Coast, on Tuesday (7pm SA time).

Itching for game day already, Kekana, who’s forged a solid central defensive pairing with his Mamelodi Sundowns teammate Mothobi Mvala at Afcon, is aware that Bafana need to bring their A game in order to beat the Super Eagles to earn what would be SA’s first Afcon final berth since 1998, when they lost to Egypt in Burkina Faso.

“Another tough encounter. Nigeria are another good team with good players. I think this game will need a lot from us… a lot of digging, a lot of analysis. We can’t wait to play, so I think it’s going to be a good game to watch,” Kekana told the Safa media team yesterday.

Modiba, who’s started and finished all Bafana’s five games in Ivory Coast thus far, echoed Kekana’s sentiment that Bafana need to apply themselves well to be victors against Nigeria, insisting they were ready for the assignment. Modiba also thinks Nigeria are the favourites in the eyes of many, hence the game won’t be a walk in the park for Bafana.

“We are ready for the task ahead. It is going to be a very tough encounter because they have been doing well in this tournament and their defence is very good. We just need to apply ourselves well so that we can win the game. If we are being honest, everyone thinks they are the favourites, so it’s going to be a tough one for us,” Modiba said yesterday.

Meanwhile, tomorrow’s match between Bafana and the Super Eagles will also cast a spotlight on the two nations’ goalkeepers in Ronwen Williams and Stanley Nwabili respectively as they both play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) for Sundowns and Chippa United. Another common denominator is that both shot-stoppers have kept four clean sheets from five games at this competition.