Khumalo Remains Optimistic About Bafana’s Chances In COSAFA Cup
Bafana Bafana’s COSAFA team coach Vela Khumalo remains optimistic about his team’s chances of reaching the knockout stage of the tournament despite the complexity of the group stage.
Following their 2-0 win against Zimbabwe on Saturday at Toyota Stadium, Khumalo said that his team still needs to win their next game against Mauritius on Tuesday to advance to the semifinal, and it would require Mozambique to play a draw or lose against Zimbabwe on Tuesday as well.
“It’s still wide open, and we can’t afford to see Mozambique win; maybe a draw for them would be fine,” Khumalo said.
“But also, we need to win our game against Mauritius because maybe Mozambique can play a draw then we don’t win. Those are some of the things in football, and I’m hopeful and think we can make it to the semifinal.”
Khumalo’s comments highlight the challenges of the group stage, where Bafana Bafana are currently sitting in second place in Group A with three points, while Mozambique leads the group with four points.
Despite the tough competition, Khumalo remains confident that his team can make it to the semifinal if they can secure a win against Mauritius.
Reflecting on the game against Zimbabwe, Khumalo praised his team’s performance, saying, “I think we had a good game as always, and one would then say we can’t get too excited because of where we are staying; let’s get to the next game and get six points then see how it goes.”
He added that his team executed their game plan well, preventing Zimbabwe from scoring, but struggled to capitalize on their chances.
“We also got so many chances in the early stages of the game but didn’t use the chances well,” Khumalo said.
“Maybe again we still need to go back and say let’s fix this and be clinical in front of goals.”
Despite the missed opportunities, Khumalo was pleased with his team’s victory and the three points they earned.
As Bafana Bafana look to their final group game against Mauritius, Khumalo’s message is clear: they need to focus on securing a win and hope that Mozambique doesn’t win their game.
