"I want to go win the tournament and give the youngsters the experience, in a perfect world," Baxter said. "We are prepared to give the youngsters [the opportunity], but we are not prepared to say, 'well, therefore we are not going to win and therefore we don't care if we lose', because that would be a crime."
The squad will assemble today in Johannesburg, train at Orlando Stadium tomorrow and leave for Zambia on Tuesday.
"We are going with the mentality of using this tournament in whichever way we can to gain experience and knowledge and maybe one of these young players will play in Afcon [qualifiers] and he would be the difference between us qualifying for Afcon or not," he said.
"I've said to the FA (SA Football Association) that we need to fulfil more than one goal this year.
"We need to go through the squad, we need to be brave to renew it and give some of the youngsters [an opportunity].
The four-nation tournament to be staged at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola kicks off on Thursday. In the first match, the home side play against Zimbabwe. Kick-off is at 1pm.
South Africa will then take to the field to face Angola at 3pm.
The winners of the two semifinal matches meet in the final at 3pm on Sunday, with the third place playoff acting as the curtain raiser at 1pm.
New-look Bafana pick up the baton
Image: Samuel Shivambu / BackpagePix
Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has backed his current squad to deliver for the nation.
Baxter's team that will play in the four-nation tournament to be hosted by Zambia this week has an average age of 25 with the Brit having introduced some young players.
Bafana's squad that failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia had an average age of 28.
In an attempt to refresh the team, Baxter has brought in youngsters like Reeve Frosler (Bidvest Wits, 20), Teboho Mokoena (SuperSport United, 20), Siphesihle Ndlovu (Maritzburg United, 21), Phakamani Mahlambi (Al Ahly, 20) and Ryan Moon (Kaizer Chiefs, 21).
He believes given a chance these young players can help the nation qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). And by the time the 2022 World Cup qualifiers start, they could have enough experience to again play a crucial role in SA qualifying.
Bafana star Teboho Mokoena still respects the curfew
"I want to go win the tournament and give the youngsters the experience, in a perfect world," Baxter said. "We are prepared to give the youngsters [the opportunity], but we are not prepared to say, 'well, therefore we are not going to win and therefore we don't care if we lose', because that would be a crime."
The squad will assemble today in Johannesburg, train at Orlando Stadium tomorrow and leave for Zambia on Tuesday.
"We are going with the mentality of using this tournament in whichever way we can to gain experience and knowledge and maybe one of these young players will play in Afcon [qualifiers] and he would be the difference between us qualifying for Afcon or not," he said.
"I've said to the FA (SA Football Association) that we need to fulfil more than one goal this year.
"We need to go through the squad, we need to be brave to renew it and give some of the youngsters [an opportunity].
The four-nation tournament to be staged at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola kicks off on Thursday. In the first match, the home side play against Zimbabwe. Kick-off is at 1pm.
South Africa will then take to the field to face Angola at 3pm.
The winners of the two semifinal matches meet in the final at 3pm on Sunday, with the third place playoff acting as the curtain raiser at 1pm.
Five of the best young players in Baxter's Bafana squad
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