Last chance for Bafana’s fringe players to impress Broos

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says their friendly match against Zambia is crucial in improving their rankings and assessing some fringe players.

South Africa, preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations, host fellow qualifiers Zambia at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

Morocco host the next Afcon from December 21 to January 18. Bafana are in Group B with Egypt, Angola and Zimbabwe.

“For me, friendly games don’t exist,” Broos told a press conference in Sandton on Monday. “Every game we have to be focused and concentrate and try to win — it won’t be different in this game. I want to win on Saturday.

“Why [do] I want to win? First of all, it’s important for our ranking. We certainly want to stay in the top 10 [in the African rankings, where Bafana are 10th] and even go to nine again.

“I think the Lesotho defeat [an overturned result from a 2-0 win caused by the Teboho Mokoena suspension bungle, where South Africa were docked three points and Lesotho awarded a 3-0 win] made us drop to 10.”

Broos believes a defeat against Chipolopolo, who are ranked 18th in Africa and 87th in the world, would be detrimental to Bafana’s Afcon preparations.

He is also keen to see how newcomers like Keletso Makgalwa and Masindi Nemtajela will apply themselves. Bafana are 54th in the global rankings.

“We are one month from the Afcon and it won’t be a good thing to lose the game on Saturday. So what I will ask from every player is to focus as we did in the World Cup qualifiers.

“This may not be a qualifier, but I will not accept it if the players take this game as a little holiday — I want to win,” Broos said.

“It’s also the last opportunity for me to see some players a little bit more at close range; players like Makgalwa and Nemtajela. They have performed well for their clubs, and I think they deserve to be with us.

“Now it’s up to them to prove they are in the right place here; that they are players for the future who can help us.”