BAFANA Bafana won’t sit back and relax when they host Botswana in the second round of their African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier at Moruleng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday (3pm).
Budding Mamelodi Sundowns star Malebogo Modise, who made his Bafana debut in the second half of the first leg which Bafana won 2-0 in Francistown, is itching for another crack at the Zebras after having had to leave the field injured barely six minutes into his debut.
Said the South African Under-20 defender: “We must put more pressure on Botswana and go for the win. That will see us safe so we reach the next round. We won’t be taking it easy.”
It’s been a great year for the 20-year-old, who played in all three matches at the Fifa Youth World Cup in South Korea for Amajita earlier this year and now got his first senior international cap in last weekend’s victory win over the Zebras.
Said an excited Modise: “I feel blessed. It proves hard work pays off. I was sad when I had to leave the field last Saturday. But that’s football.
“I believe I have a 90% chance of being fit for Saturday. I’m working hard to get fighting fit so that I’ll be able to play in the second leg.”
He said the key was to carry out to head coach Stuart Baxter’ instructions: “We played according to coach Stuart’s game plan and we must do the same again on Saturday.”
His Amajita teammate Ricardo Lourenco, who plies his trade for Orlando Pirates, said: “This game is not done and dusted. Having a 2-0 lead is a bit tricky. We have to apply ourselves again, and not let them score and put pressure on us. We must listen to the coach and, like he said, we must be more clinical on transition, calm and confident, and finish the job in Rustenburg.”
Lourenco, who helped Amajita win the Commonwealth of Independent States Cup in Russia last year, said he could not believe it when he got called up to Bafana: “If somebody told me two years ago I would be in the Bafana squad, I would not have believed it!”
On the possibility of getting his Bafana debut, the midfielder said: “It’s every player’s dream to play for his country and it would mean the world to me.”