One-time African champs are far off from being a force in African football, never mind the world.
South Africa’s national men’s football side played their first set of fixtures since their disappointing and controversial defeat to Qatar-bound Ghana in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers back in November 2021.
During the World Cup qualifiers Bafana were one of just four teams to concede two goals or fewer in Africa. Against France, that solidity was put to the ultimate test as they were bamboozled time and again. That goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was lauded for making 11 total saves on the night – despite conceding five – demonstrates the type of pressure the South Africans came under.
“We are a young team. Therefore, we don’t have the experience and quality of the French team. We tried our best today but the talent of our opposition was just too much, so we are not embarrassed by this scoreline.”The destructive Mbappé not only exposed Bafana’s problems on the field, but problems in the wider community of South African football. At 23, the Paris Saint-Germain forward has played more than 150 senior games for club and country.
As a result, when he should be one of the more internationally experienced players in Broos’s team, the 24-year-old has less than 10 national team caps since becoming the youngest player to don the Bafana Bafana shirt six years ago. Broos’s men had a total of 19 shots on goal, almost four times more than their opponents. Of those, less than half were on target as the team just could not find the back of the net, despite poking numerous holes in the Guinea defence.
“At the moment, if you check our South African strikers, I mean, it’s embarrassing. The guys are struggling to get into double figures,” former Bafana forward Katlego Mphela told KickOff after the Guinea game.
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