If you worry too much you become like England‚ says Baxter

Bafana Bafana have in recent times developed a tendency to win matches when you least expect them to and fail when you they are favourites.

Bafana once again have their backs against the wall as they face one of Africa’s top teams‚ Senegal‚ at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday night (7pm).

The home side must beat the Lions of Teranga to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia‚ while a win for the West Africans will ensure qualification and the return leg in Dakar on Tuesday will be reduced to a dead rubber.

Win both games and Bafana are through‚ in what is being viewed as something of a mission impossible.

Since June‚ Bafana have beaten Nigeria in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qulaifier. This was away in Uyo‚ making the result even more surprising.

They also got the better of Burkina Faso with a 3-1 win at FNB Stadium when only 16 000 fans pitched at FNB Stadium.

This was on the back of having lost twice to minnows Cape Verde and the nation had seemingly lost hope of the team making it to Russia next year.

Bafana’s clash with a superior-on-paper Senegal on Friday night has them being written off again.

But if you go back to the Nigeria and Burkina Faso matches‚ you soon realise perhaps you are writing Bafana off at your own peril.

Coach Stuart Baxter‚ who said he cannot afford to walk around camp like he’s having a semi-heart attack because of the magnitude of this match‚ certainly wants his players to also have a normal approach rather than being desperate to win. That could lead to them being error-prone‚ which could lead to an undesired result‚ he has said.

“You can’t concentrate more because it means more‚ that’s not how it works. I think people sometimes think that if the players want it bad enough‚ it would happen and that’s not how it works‚ because wanting it so much sometimes you get like England.

“I don’t think there’s a country in the world that wants to win the World Cup more than England‚ but the more they want it the more they fail‚” Baxter explained.

“We’ve got to hit that level where we really‚ really want it but we are calm enough to deliver it. That’s my job to give the players a game plan that is not so intricate that they are confused‚” he said.

To Baxter’s credit‚ he’s maintained his calm even when some European-based players pitched late to camp because of flight delays or when Thulani Serero decided he was not pitching at all.

The players‚ in turn‚ have appeared to speak in the same voice. While the focus has been on opposition players like Sadio Mane‚ Keita Balde and others that can hurt Bafana‚ South Africa have all week appeared just as quietly confident.

“We just need to stick to what we want to do and what we expect of ourselves. As I always say; expect nothing and give everything‚” said central defender‚ Morgan Gould.

It’s over to you‚ Bafana‚ show us what you can do this time.