MALI head coach Eric Chelle contends that the fact that the majority of Bafana Bafana’s squad refine their skills within the realm of the DStv Premiership isn’t a drawback.
Instead, he hints that this is the ace up South Africa’s sleeve at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The two nations open their Afcon campaigns against each other in Group E on Tuesday night.
Twenty of the 23 players selected by Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos are home-based. The exceptions are Percy Tau (Al Ahly, Egypt), Sphephelo Sithole (Tondela/Portugal), and Mihlali Mayambela (Aris Limassol/Cyprus).
Bafana Bafana: Afcon squad (figure indicates shirt number)
Goalkeepers: 22-Ricardo Goss (SuperSport Utd), 16-Veli Mothwa (AmaZulu), 1-Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Defenders: 18-Grant Kekana, 3-Terrence Mashego, 6-Aubrey Modiba, 20-Khuliso Mudau, 14-Mothobi Mvala (all Sundowns), 19-Nkosinathi Sibisi, (Orlando Pirates), 2-Sydney Mobbie (Sekhukhune Utd), 5-Siyanda Xulu (SuperSport)
Midfielders: 12-Thapelo Maseko, 4-Teboho Mokoena, 23-Thapelo Morena (all Sundowns), 8-Jayden Adams (Stellenbosch), 15-Thabang Monare (Pirates), 13-Sphephelo Sithole (Tondela/POR)
Forwards: 17-Zakhele Lepasa, 9-Evidence Makgopa (both Pirates), 7-Oswin Appollis (Polokwane City), 21-Mihlali Mayambela (Aris Limassol/CYP), 10-Percy Tau (Al Ahly/EGY), 11-Themba Zwane (Sundowns)
Within the domestic contingent, 10 players represent Mamelodi Sundowns, while five are part of the Orlando Pirates squad.
“They all play in the same league,” Chelle, a former defender, told the media during Mali’s press conference.
“We respect this team as they are former winners of the competition. They may not have a lot of players overseas.
“The fact that they play in the same league means that they know each other very well, which is a great advantage in such a competition.”
Even though it’s been almost 30 years since Bafana Bafana last clinched the Afcon title, and 24 years since the national team advanced beyond the quarter-final stage, Chelle isn’t underestimating Broos’s charges.
“They are not to be underestimated. South Africa has been participating for several years in Afcon,” he continued.
“We don’t take them lightly, and they have actually won the Afcon. We are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, but we have also prepared well for this match.”
While Bafana Bafana proudly feature a robust contingent of home-based players, Mali, in contrast, have no representatives from their domestic top-flight league in the squad.
Instead, all of Mali’s players showcase their skills on the international stage, with the majority plying their trade in various European leagues.
While they are knockout regulars at the tournament, there is sentiment that they are African underachievers given their historic star quality in players like Frederic Kanoute, Seydou Keita, and currently the Traore brothers Adam and Hamari.
Mali finished third in 2012 and 2013, and then experienced somewhat of a decline since. In the two tournaments after that they crashed out in the group stages. Their best-placed finish at Afcon is runners-up in 1972.
However, there is a sense of renewed energy within the team brought about by the growth as leader of Spurs midfielder Yves Bissouma.
Bafana Bafana and Mali have met twice at the African showpiece, with Mali victorious on both occasions – in Mali in 2002 in the quarter-finals, and in South Africa, also in the quarter-finals in 2013.
Bafana, holding the 64th position in world football rankings, face off against Mali, ranked 51, at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo, Ivory Coast (22:00 SA time).
Image (Will Bafana Bafana open their account with a win)?
