All is not lost on Bafana Bafana- Mbaks

Sports minister Fikile Mbalula has thrown his weight behind Bafana to bounce back and qualify for the next round of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Mbalula said he was more optimistic about the team’s chances after meeting with the players in camp here in Mongomo.

He expects fireworks when Bafana take on Ghana in a decisive game on Tuesday evening. Kickoff is 8pm.

“I am optimistic about what is coming our way and I believe we can still make it. Despite other teams winning their games the group is still open. All the teams are going into the last match with something to play for and the group has lived up to expectations. But out of the group of death we will come out alive and those who have to die will die and go home but we will not be counted amongst them. It is now or never for us,” said Mbalula.

He said the players were determined to make up for their mistakes in the previous two games against Algeria and Senegal.

But he bemoaned lack of killer instincts in front of goals saying Bafana should have wrapped the group by now but said such was football as victory eluded the team when everybody expected them to win.

But Mbalula said failure to advance to the knockout stages would not be a train smash.

“We should learn from our mistakes but we never said we came here to win the Afcon but to compete against the best in the continent. We have shown that we are hungry and determined and the team played good football. Our mandate has been to build a formidable side and Afcon is not an end but a journey for us. We will look at our mistakes not going to the boardrooms like other teams who came here with mandates to win or else. We have got no stress of thinking of what will happen to the coach when we get home.

“We came here to prove our point and we have made our mark that we not just statistic but to weigh ourselves against the best. If we don’t make it, it would mean it was not meant to be and there’s always next time.”

Mbalula has also praised the government of Equatorial Guinea for organising what he called “a fantastic tournament”, and said it deserved a pet on the back.

“The atmosphere has been fantastic and this has proved that in Africa everything is possible after agreeing to host the event with few days to go. It has been smooth sailing and the organisers have done well.”

DailySun