Mazola Molefe looks at three ways Bafana Bafana can stop Senegal in their 2018 World Cup qualifier at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.
Itumeleng Khune
One of coach Shakes Mashaba’s blunders at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Equatorial Guinea, where Bafana faced the Lions of Teranga in the group stages, was the surprise selection of Jackson Mabokgwane as the first choice goalkeeper, exposing his lack of height against a team made up of man-mountains.
The coach opted to sideline Brilliant Khuzwayo and Darren Keet who would have been ideal in a match where Senegal were obviously going to use their aerial strength. Khune did not make the Afcon squad due to a lengthy injury at the time, but his return to the national team, in the words of Mashaba, is “a quarter of the battle won”.
Make them chase the ball
In that same encounter more than a year-and-a-half ago, Bafana struck first through Oupa Manyisa in the 47th minute having frustrated the Senegalese with their pace and nifty footwork in the middle of the park. But they grew tired, allowing the opposition to equalise using their strength in the air and South Africa spent the rest of the match dealing with the onslaught. Mashaba this week said he would address his side’s mental state in the dying minutes of a crucial qualifier like the one on Saturday.
Stop Sadio Mane
He’s the man everyone’s been talking about as Senegal’s dangerman. A few have argued that the Liverpool striker, who has scored six goals in 10 English Premier League matches, is a shadow of himself when playing for his country. Mashaba should not listen to those comments, but rather urge his defenders to be alert when Mane is on the move - with or without the ball on the Peter Mokaba Stadium pitch on Saturday.
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The Star