Bafana Bafana will be hoping to wrap up the newly launched Fifa Series on a high when they play against hosts Algeria on Tuesday night. The South Africans will go into their last match of the series. This after a rather lukewarm 1-1 draw against Andorra in the opening game last Thursday.
Their opponents, Algeria, recorded a 3-2 victory over tough Bolivia in the series’ opener. So, last week’s results will make for a humdinger and a much-needed test for SA coach Hugo Broos’ lads in their north African sojourn.
Pilot project tournament
This pilot-project tournament was designed by Fifa for friendly matches to be contested by national teams from different confederations. Teams that don’t normally have the opportunity to play each other.
SA skipper, Ronwen Williams said that he is happy that Bafana are no longer underdogs on the continent. He added that they are ready for the hard-working Algerians. Williams was recently voted goalkeeper of the tournament in the 2023 Afcon tournament in Ivory Coast.
“We are no longer underdogs,” Williams told Safa media. “There is so much talent in this team that we can go to countries like Morocco with confidence and positive minds. We are growing as a team, and it has not been a fluke to beat those top nations.
“We qualified well, we played well at Afcon. People can now see that the old Bafana Bafana is back again. We played well in Ivory Coast in October, and I am proud of the team.
SA did well at Afcon
“We just need to remain consistent going into the future. The steps we have taken in the last two years speak volumes. There’s brotherhood and a bond that we have developed in the squad. People did not give us enough credit, and we had to do it at Afcon. And it showed that it was not a fluke,” added the Mamelodi Sundowns shot-stopper.
Williams explained that they were not happy with the result against Andorra and that they are hoping to bounce back on Tuesday night.
“We were disappointed against Andorra because they were there for the taking. We created a lot of chances, and there were also many changes in the team – a complete new team. And the coach tried to play as many players as possible and give them a chance. We felt we were strong enough to win, we created so many chances. But it’s one of those games where the coach had his reasons for his approach.
Ready for Algeria
“Tuesday is a big one; we are playing against the host nation, which did not have a good Afcon. They have a new coach, Vladmir Petkovic, and they can be very dangerous. But we want to put our hands up, we want to be counted, and so, we’ve trained accordingly. We want to show why we finished third at Afcon,” Williams added.
