Bafana can reach Afcon quarterfinals: Mark Williams

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South African football legend Mark Williams believes Bafana Bafana can reach the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast.

Bafana Bafana are in Group E alongside Tunisia, Mali and neighbours Namibia.

Bafana managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations the last time they qualified in 2017 in Egypt.

Williams scored two goals in the final against Tunisia when Bafana won its only Afcon trophy in 1996.

“They can go into the quarterfinals. The Mali match is a must win. We have always been struggling against them, I believe they are next to Ivory Coast but there will be lot of pressure on them … but not for Bafana.”

“But if they win, they get three points and if you beat Namibia then you have six points and you only need six points to qualify and we could finish first or second,” adds Williams.

Bafana only assembled for the tournament last week on Friday, in Stellenbosch.

Airport arrival shots of Team Bafana Bafana at Korhogo Airport a short while ago. #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 #AFCON2023 #BafanaPride pic.twitter.com/amdreneagf

— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) January 11, 2024

Williams says the preparation time is not enough for the team going into the big tournament.

“The more time you have, the better it is. But the coach will say yes because he has seen these players throughout the year, some of the players he brought back from the two years he has been with the national team.”

“But it’s nice to have three or four weeks and I know the coach asked the PSL to give players some time off and I think that was going to be the right idea,” he adds.

Bafana will go into the tournament without their top striker Lyle Foster from Burnley in England.

Foster asked to be excused from the tournament due to mental health issues, but he is currently playing for his team in the English Premier League.

Williams lamented his absence.

“For me, I have been watching the boy, I have seen what he has been doing for his team. I think he is a big miss. We could have done with a player like him. Sometimes you need plan A and plan B. Plan A is players running into a ball and plan B is players holding on to a ball but we don’t have a player like that,” he adds.

The team travelled back to Gauteng where they played a practice match against minnows Lesotho.

The two neighbours played to a goalless draw.

Williams is not happy that Bafana played only one practice match before Afcon.

“One game is never enough. People must understand this is the Afcon Cup. You have European Championships, those people are having one month preparation because the league give them time off to focus on the national team.”

Bafana coach Hugo Broos won the Afcon tournament with the young, unfancied and inexperienced Cameroon team in 2017.

Williams believes that success can rub off to the players.

The video below is reporting more on the story: