Minister blasts Bafana performance
South African Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa has called Bafana Bafana's performance in the 1-0 defeat to the Ivory Coast on Mondayunacceptable and has called on the team beat Namibia and Morocco in their next two matches.
Bongani Zungu (France, Amiens) and Tiyani Mabunda (Mamelodi Sundowns) during the South African national men’s soccer team training session at Steyn City School on June 05, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
The minister met with South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan on Tuesday and conveyed his feelings, after which Jordaan went to the Bafana team hotel to speak with the coach and
players.
‘The match yesterday … I think we are not supposed to be defeated,” said Mthethwa.
“Our national team has all it takes to have won yesterday … I hear people expect defeat from Bafana, but if you trace the last one and a half years, the team have really pulled up their socks. Yesterday they
didn’t pull them up as much as they were supposed to.
“I don’t know what is the reason, whether it is about drastically changing the line-up, but they were not coherent on the field. I don’t even want to talk about attempts at goal (Bafana didn’t have one shot
on target), but I don’t think it is acceptable and South Africans are entitled to criticise this performance.
“It was poor. The next match on Friday with Namibia, in face all the matches, Bafana is supposed to win. They are supposed to beat Namibia and are supposed to beat Morocco. I don’t see why they would fail, but our football … needs more attention.”
“When I spoke with the president of Safa, I told him that this is unacceptable, it leaves much to be desired, and he agreed with me, he was going to meet the team now, the players, the coach, everyone and
convey the message.
“We would also raise the question of what it is that drastically we need to do, something needs to be done without football at home.”
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