Share

HOW MANY GOALS TODAY?

accreditation
Thulani Hlatshwayo of South Africa celebrates goal with teammates
Thulani Hlatshwayo of South Africa celebrates goal with teammates
BackpagePix

AS ARSENE Wenger has said, the beauty of football is its unpredictability.

It seems easy enough, however, to predict another win for Bafana Bafana in their clash with Seychelles today.

Brimming with confidence, South Africa are in the Seychelles for their return Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier to be played at the Linite Stadium on Tuesday (3.30pm).

Another one-sided match is anticipated – a comprehensive win certainly expected from Stuart Baxter’s team.

This is after Bafana recorded their biggest score ever in a competitive match as they drubbed Seychelles 6-0 in the first of back-to-back qualifying matches at home at the weekend.

In fact, it is not a matter of “if” they win, but rather “how many goals” can Bafana score against a team that has no hopes of qualifying.

Truth is that the Indian Ocean Pirates were a soft punching bag which Bafana used to warm up for the epic battle against Nigeria next month.

But Baxter has warned his charges against complacency and getting carried away.

“We had a good win but should not be carried away. There was a new wave, the swagger from all the players,” said Baxter.

“We are aware what Seychelles are capable of. They created two big chances against Nigeria and they would think they have a chance if they sit back in the opening minutes and frustrate us. We need to guard against that.

“With our history of failing to qualify, qualification is the goal. If we wrap it up quickly that would be very nice indeed. But if it goes right up to the last minute of the game, I’m sure everybody will be delighted anyway. I’m not thinking too much about that. We really have to concentrate on what we do.”

South Africa are top of Group E with seven points, one more than second-placed Nigeria and three more than Libya, who are third following their 4-0 defeat to the Super Eagles.

A win for Bafana today and victory for Nigeria over Libya in the other group match will leave SA needing only a point to secure their place in the 2019 finals in Cameroon.

Even Wenger would agree, on this occasion football is predictable.

Get the best in Soccer, News and Lifestyle content with SNL24 PLUS
For 14 free days, you can have access to the best from Soccer Laduma, KickOff, Daily Sun, TrueLove and Drum. Thereafter you will be billed R29 per month. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won't be billed.
Subscribe to SNL24 PLUS
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
What do you value most personally?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Earning tons of money
20% - 1 votes
Career Progression
20% - 1 votes
Work-Life balance
60% - 3 votes
Vote
Let us know what you think

Contact the People’s Paper with feedback on stories and how we could make dailysun.co.za even better!

Learn more
Do you have a story for the People’s Paper?

Click below to contact our news desk and share your story with SunLand!

Let's do it!