Bafana Bafana head coach Stuart Baxter says he’s happy with the underdog tag going to the crucial 2019 AFCON last 16 match against the hosts Egypt on Saturday.
The two teams meet at the Cairo International stadium on Saturday evening (21:00) with the winner set to meet the winner of the Nigeria and Cameroon clash in the quarterfinals.
Egypt have maintained a 100% winning record so far in the competition whilst Bafana has been struggling, lost two matches and qualified as one of the four third best placed finishers.
Baxter is giving the impression that he won’t hold back in this game.
Despite not starting well in this competition, in the past Bafana has responded better against the so-called big teams and Baxter says this will be a test for some of his players.
At club level, Baxter has also established himself as one of the strong coaches in the PSL when it comes to cup competitions and the knockout stage of this tournament offers him that.
But this is at a totally different level and international experience is key too and he talks about having a go at this game.
Whilst SAFA is adamant that that they tried to get Baxter and his team all the preparation matches he needed, the Briton says had they got these warm-up games, they would’ve performed differently at this AFCON so far.
But he’s also touching on not giving players like Mo Salah too much respect.
With Themba Zwane out of this game due to suspension, Baxter is also concerned that Dean Furman might not recover in time for this crucial encounter.
Speculation is rife that Baxter’s second stint as the Bafana coach is coming to an end after this tournament; he’s said to be ready to ready to call it quit and also SAFA are alleged to have seen enough.
Will he go, what is his response to the public outcry about the ultra-defensive approach of his team.
Baxter has been heavily linked with a return to Kaizer Chiefs. – Report by Velile Mnyandu
