Molefi Ntseki confident Bafana Bafana can seal CHAN quarter-final spot against Uganda

Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki oozes confidence that his side can still qualify for the CHAN quarter-finals, despite their mixed performances in the group stage so far.

Bafana will face Uganda in their final Group C match at the Mandela National Stadium in Uganda on Monday afternoon (6pm kick-off).

Ntseki’s men are second in the group with five points – one behind the Cranes – after drawing with Algeria, beating Equatorial Guinea, and drawing with Niger.

With the top three teams in the group – Uganda, Algeria, and Bafana – all playing their final matches on Monday, qualification for the next round will be decided then.

Ntseki made a bold claim before the Niger game that their fate was in their own hands – a sentiment he still holds despite dropping points.

“Yeah, I think you are very right. In the pre-match press conference, we spoke about our last game, and we knew it would be tough,” Ntseki said.“But if you look at the group standings, Monday is effectively a final for this group. What’s interesting is that no team has secured a knockout stage ticket.

“So, whoever slips up on Monday will go home. The top three are playing on the same day, and the best two will go through to the quarter-finals.

“From our group, that means we are going to produce the best two teams for the last eight, and that’ll be the best thing for football.”

While many believe Bafana should have beaten the lowly ranked Niger, Ntseki maintains his team gave their all but just couldn’t secure the win.

“I think as a team, we understand what tournament football is all about – there are three possible results: win, draw, and loss,” Ntseki said. “We’ve won one match and drawn two. We’re left with the final game, and we are looking forward to it.

“In terms of performance, I can’t fault the team. We did our best in our approach, and we were fully aware that we were playing a side that had nothing to lose.

“They were very much a dark horse, and after the game they celebrated the draw. Going back home, they’ll look at the result as a big achievement against South Africa.”

Ntseki added that his side took positives from the clash against Niger, insisting the game kept them sharp with such a quick turnaround of fixtures.

“Things didn’t go our way, but we are keeping our heads up for the next game because the recovery period is very short,” Ntseki said. “We’re playing on Monday against a team that has shown its competitiveness over the last five days. So this was a good lesson and preparation.”

Bafana’s squad is largely made up of free agents, but Phillip Ndlondlo, who has impressed so far, has landed himself a new deal with Marumo Gallants.