Bafana Bafana midfielder Sphephelo Sithole has admitted that his performances so far in the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) have not been good enough, stating that he knows what and where to improve ahead of their clash against Cameroon on Sunday.
Bafana take on the Indomitable Lions in a tough Last 16 tie at the Agdal Medina Stadium in Rabat, the Moroccan capital. The game is scheduled to get underway at 9pm.
The winner between the two sides will face either Morocco or Tanzania in the quarterfinals next Friday.
Back to basics
Sithole (26) is one of the players who have not impressed so far at the Afcon, with many South African fans critical of his performances.
The lanky and muscular midfielder was even substituted going into the second half in their hard-fought 3-2 win over Zimbabwe early this week.
Reflecting on his performance so far, Yaya, as Sithole is affectionately known, said he knows what and where he needs to improve.
“For myself, it wasn’t the start that I expected of myself,” Sithole told the South African media in Morocco on Thursday, as per iDiski Times.
“I know what I need to do and where I need to improve. The team has also not been performing as well as it did in the previous two years.
“But we spoke about it among the group, and we told ourselves we need to go back to basics. If we lose one game, we’re going to go home. So, we need to improve in many aspects and then take it from there.”
Threats to Bafana
Indeed, Bafana will, without a shadow of a doubt, have to improve, especially in defence, as they will be faced with a star-studded Cameroonian attack led by Manchester United star Bryan Mbeumo.
Other players who can pose a serious threat to Bafana and that they should be wary of are teenager Christian Kofane and experienced Christian Bassogog.
“We need to improve everything Winning the duels on the ground and aerial duels will make our team play much better because everything starts in the midfield.
“If the midfield is doing well, many things can make the team stable,” he added.
