JOHANNESBURG, June 8 (NNN-SABC) — The South African national football team, Bafana Bafana, left here Wednesday for Nigeria for Saturday’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against the Super Eagles in their opening Group E fixture.

South Africa are confident after separate training sessions due to injuries to several players. The Super Eagles travelled to France where they spent time preparing for the match, but Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has done his homework on the opposition.

”It’s a mixture of young players that they brought in and I think they’ve done that for two reasons, one is to balance their egos and two it’s got the element of development where their probably weren’t happy with the route that we’re going. But what they have done is that they have kept a core of players where they are playing at the very highest level.

South Africa has only once beaten Nigeria in an official match, when Baxter was with the team during his first stint as national coach and he’s confident he can repeat that feat.

”I think if we could turn that around and frustrate them a little bit and be better then they think and have more to say than they think and I think probably the crowd can maybe be a little bit of a negative for them. We can spoil the party a little bit.

Although Bafana only had a couple of days to prepare for the match, Baxter feels it was sufficient. ”We have covered the important things. The players have got a clear message of how we want to play. We are going there and not feeling that there’s not been a preparation that can enable us to win the game.”

Upon their return, Bafana will face Zambia in an international friendly on Tuesday evening at the Moruleng Stadium in North West Province.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK