Keep The Optimism Alive For Bafana!
We all know that since 1996, Bafana Bafana has never had it easy at tournaments, specifically the African Cup of Nations (AFCON). Sadly this year was not different after the national soccer team exited the tournament in the first round.
This left the country disappointed, which lead to questions surrounding coach Emphraim “Shakes” Mashaba’s tournament strategies. There was even doubt around whether or not Mashaba was the right man for the job, with some extreme fans calling for him to be fired. Sad as this may all be, it is not the end of the world.
According to sport24 , Mashaba believed that the AFCON experience would help the national team become “formidable” for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This makes sense considering Bafana’s disappointing history in the AFCON tournaments post 1996.
The years that stand out in Bafana’s qualifying history are 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015. In 2006 Bafana exited the tournament without even scoring a single goal. Then came 2008 where they manage to qualify but unfortunately left the tournament without reaching the knock out-stages. The years 2010 and 2012 were probably the worst in the history of Bafana because they failed to qualify in both years. 2013 was better because although the national team were automatic participants as hosts, they reached the knock-out stages and exited in the quarter finals. This year was also different, even though they failed to reach the next round.
Bafana’s qualifying campaign for AFCON 2015 was close to perfect as they qualified without losing a single match. Two draws against Nigeria, two wins against Sudan and a win and draw to Congo saw Bafana’s best performance yet. Another highlight was the fact that South Africa had climbed up the FIFA rankings. In 2014 sport24 reported that Bafana were 51st in the world rankings and 11th in Africa. This created a lot of optimism and perhaps high expectations going into the tournament.
There were some highlights (and low nights) in Bafana’s performance at AFCON 2015, hosted in Equatorial Guinea. In the opening match against Algeria, Bafana scored first only to lose the match 3-1. The next match against Senegal, Bafana managed to hold on for a 1-1 draw. The last match saw Bafana scoring first again, only to lose 2-1.
With all said and done Mashaba still believed that Bafana would reach their goal of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in 2015. “With time we will get better and make all South Africans proud,” he said in sport24.
What do you think? How can Bafana make it to the 2018 World Cup? Share your views on Twitter or Facebook.
Written By Dineo Phoshoko
