BAFANA Bafana captain Thulani “Tyson” Hlatshwayo is happy with the draw for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The 29-year-old who will lead Bafana at the tournament set to be staged in Egypt from 21 June to 19 July, has described the draw as “Interesting.”
Bafana have been drawn in Group D alongside Ivory Coast, Morocco and Namibia.
“This is a very interesting draw,” Hlatshwayo told SAFA’s official website.
“I am very happy with it. I am glad we did not get so-called small nations because we seem to be at our best when we face big name countries, so I am confident we will do well.
“Mind you, we started the qualifications with a win (vs Nigeria) and ended with another fine win (vs Libya) and both matches were away – not only that, we also qualified without losing a game, and that means we are doing something right. So we have to continue where we left off and I believe with the nation behind us we will get it right.”
Hlatshwayo and co will be hoping to go further than their group stage exit in their last appearance at the Afcon in 2015 under Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba.
The Bidvest Wits defender believes they are a much stronger team now and have enough experience and quality to go deep in the tournament.
“I am excited because we have hungry players,” he added.
“They are also motivated, disciplined and most importantly, united. We may be from different clubs, but when we don the national team jersey we become one.
“To our advantage we have some youngsters but they have wealth of experience. Also, I really loved the welcome we got after we qualified, and we would like more of that – but we know the only way is if we do well in the tournament.”
