Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba has applauded his players for qualifying for the group stages of the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia qualifiers following a 1-0 victory over Angola in the second leg played at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Tuesday.
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South Africa advanced 4-1 on aggregate after winning the first leg 3-1 in Angola last Friday.
“I would like to applaud my players for sticking to the game plan which saw us proceed to Round 3. We are on the verge of turning things around, we are not there yet. It would be important to keep the momentum when we get to the Afcon qualifiers in March. The more you play, the more you get familiar with the system,” said Mashaba.
“But let us not deceive ourselves, even though we don't know who will be in our group, it is going to be a tough journey to qualify for the World Cup in Russia. We have to be at our best to get through the group stages, irrespective of who we meet.”
The Bafana mentor made three changes in the second leg following the red card handed to Andile Jali, and an injury to defender Anele Ngcongca - Dean Furman and Thulani Hlatshwayo filled up the positions respectively while Mpho Makola came on for Thulani Serero.
It almost proved costly as Bafana could not get into gear. “We knew they had nothing to lose and they will bring the game to us. At times we were playing with our backs against the wall but our boys stood firm. But when we played our kind of football we managed to control the proceedings and stop them from causing any harm.
Source: iol.co.za
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