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NOW OR NEVER FOR BAFANA

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EAR CANDY . . . Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has a word with his captain Thulani Hlatshwayo. Photo by Gallo Images.
EAR CANDY . . . Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has a word with his captain Thulani Hlatshwayo. Photo by Gallo Images.

BAFANA Bafana coach Stuart Baxter says that they are ready for tonight and whatever happens in the match, they will not freeze.

The South Africans will face Libya in Group E’s final qualifying match. The qualifiers are for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament that will take place in Egypt in June.

The game will be played in a neutral venue in Tunisia, following political unrest in Libya. Bafana need a draw or a win to qualify, but a loss will see them dropping out of Afcon and Libya will book their place among Africa’s 24 nations in Egypt.

“Whatever happens in the game tonight the players will react and respond – and not freeze,” Baxter spoke ahead of the match.

“I’m pretty sure that the players are showing the right signs and come match-time, I think we will be ready.

“The boys have done some good work we are quite prepared we just needed to polish up last night just to make sure that they are comfortable with the way that we’re going to play,” Baxter added.

It took the South African team four and a half hours to travel from the capital Tunis to Sfax where the match will take place.

They settled in nicely in Sfax and had a feel of the match venue. Baxter was also content with the camaraderie in the camp, something he believes will be very key when the game kicks off.

“I want them to be fresh mentally, I want them to be fresh physically and I want to be clear in their mind tactically. Some of the players are quite new in the team and for them it will be more difficult.

“But the players who have been around, I’m sure they understand their roles because the roles are similar to what we have been doing for a long time – it’s just a slight different balance to make sure that we cannot accommodate the way that we think Libya are going to play,” Baxter added.

However, Bafana will play this match without winger Keagan Dolly who has been ruled out.

“The good news is that Bongani (Zungu) is looking very good in training and has really pushed himself,” said Baxter.

Striker Percy Tau remains positive that the team work will get a result.

Tau is likely to form a two-pronged attack with the gigantic Lebo Mothiba upfront.

“Individual brilliance will not win us the match, we will have to play as a unit and that would be crucial. We can’t afford to lose shape,” said Tau.

Baxter said that the big anticipated crowd does not bother him because he has played in the Nou Camp, Wembley Stadium and in the Congo before.

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