Bafana Bafana players during training at Sturrock Park Bafana Bafana players during training at Sturrock Park on the 1 June 2022. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Johannesburg – Bafana Bafana will take on Southern African neighbours Mozambique in the quarter-finals of the upcoming Cosafa Cup that will be held in Durban from July 5 to 17.
The draw for the event was held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Tuesday morning. Bafana have the privilege of advancing straight to the quarter-final stage of the Southern African football competition by virtue of being one of the highest ranked sides at the event.
In the other quarter-final clashes, Madagascar will play against Namibia while Zambia will play against the winner of Group A and guest nation Senegal will face off against the Winner of Group B.
The tournament will serve as a developmental platform for potential Bafana stars to showcase their talent and develop their skills as they look to take their game to a higher level.
David Notoane will lead South Africa at the event, but there is little doubt that South African players who impress at the event this year will become known to Bafana coach Hugo Broos who prefers to build his team around young talent.
Four success stories from Bafana’s successful 2021 Cosafa Cup campaign were Yusuf Maart, Veli Mothwa, Ethan Brooks and Victor Letsoalo.
The quartet have gone on to gain Bafana selection under Broos. Letsoalo has also gone on to become one of the best strikers in the South African top-flight and finished as the second highest scorer in the Premiership last season behind only Mamelodi Sundowns’ Peter Shalulile.
Senegal are playing in the Cosafa Cup as a guest nation for the second consecutive year after they lost in the final of the competition against Bafana last year.
While Senegal are unlikely to feature any players that will be part of their World Cup plans, they will nevertheless still use the competition as a means of giving new young players a chance to impress.
Meanwhile, Group A of the competition will comprise Angola, the Comoros Islands, Seychelles and Botswana.
Group B features Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius and eSwatini.
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