Young Bafana eager to keep Rio dream alive
The national Under-23 team will get another chance to book themselves a spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics when they face CAF Under-23 championship hosts Senegal in a third-place play-off match tomorrow. Ahead of the match, we look at reasons to be cheerful and fearful.Reasons to be cheerfulThe Masuku and Motupa partnership: These two players missed South Africa's 3-1 defeat to Senegal in the group stages, but made a huge difference when they joined the team after being part of the CAF Confederation Cup. They are the players SA can rely on for goals.It's not Nigeria. Rather Senegal than Nigeria right? We know how South Africa's national teams usually struggle to beat Nigeria, who are in the final after overcoming Senegal in the semis.SA know what to expect: The Under-23s have played Senegal in this competition already and will surely come out better prepared than they were in the first match.Reasons to be fearfulSenegal are hosts: They don't want to let their fans down after missing out on the final. They already have a psychological advantage after beating South Africa in the group stagesSA are poor in defence: The team has conceded seven goals in four matches.SA don't usually deliver when it matters most. Just this year Bafana Bafana and the national Under-20s were knocked out in the first round of their respective continental competitions...
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