Following Bafana Bafana’s disappointing exit from the Cosafa Cup, coach Helman Mkhalele has suggested that some of the players who formed part of his squad were not well-conditioned for high-intensity matches.
Bafana got eliminated from this year’s Cosafa Cup edition despite their 1-0 win over Eswatini during their last Group A match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
They finished second in the group, tied on five points with the winners, Mozambique. South Africa also could not sneak into the knockout rounds as one of the best runners-up.
Speaking to the media after the match, Mkhalele said that one of the reasons why the energy levels and tempo of the team dropped from the first match was fitness-related.
High-intensity level
“I think some of the players are not well-conditioned to perform at a high intensity at this level,” Mkhalele said.
“Like I said after the first match [against Mozambique], the players only met and started training on a Sunday, three days before the start of the tournament.
“And because of that, we could not increase the load on the players. We tried to make sure that we discovered their health status, and we took it from there.”
He continued: “But I would say the players could not cope because of fitness; I still believe that they struggled.
“When you come up with teams that are fitter than you and have more time in camp, then you will always try to be cautious and reserve that energy.
“So, I think that is one of the reasons why we started well, then immediately our tempo or intensity went down.”
Players praised for their effort
However, Mkhalele commended the players for their efforts and said that he was proud of how they carried themselves.
“I am proud of the effort, the character, and the humility of these boys. I’m proud of them.
“I am quite happy with some of the boys that I have seen here, that I believe raised their hands in the three games in terms of getting closer to the senior Bafana Bafana team that plays in the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers [under head coach Hugo Broos].
“They raised their hands, and I am quite happy because this tournament will go a long way for us knowing that there are players we identified here who can step in.”
