Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter says South Africans are negative about their national team. He was speaking at the arrival of the national team from African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt on Saturday.
Bafana were knocked out of the tournament by Nigeria in the quarter-finals last week.
The team qualified for the second round by the virtue of finishing as one of the four number three finishers in their group. Baxter says he is accountable.
Baxter addressed a press conference after the arrival and was annoyed with some of the questions that were asked by journalists. Some of the questions were related to his future with the team that got him irritated.
Bafana lost to Ivory Coast and Morocco 1-0 and also beat Namibia by the similar score line. They then produced their best performance in the tournament, when they beat host nation Egypt.
They then lost to Nigeria in the quarter-finals. Baxter says he is not satisfied with the overall performance of the team.
Bafana conceded late goals against Morocco in a group match and also against Nigeria in a quarter-final match. Baxter says the team lost concentration in the critical phases and they need to address it.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was implemented in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
SA was the first team to benefit from the controversial system against Nigeria when Bongani Zungu’s goal was awarded when it appeared to be offside. Baxter is confident that it will help football going forward.
Bafana were welcomed by a decent crowd at the OR Tambo International Airport.
Most of the SA supporters were not happy with the team’s overall performance at AFCON. Baxter thanked everyone who welcomed them. – Report by Vincent Sitsula
