Former Bafana Bafana coach Trott Moloto says he believes the SA team will stand tall against Nigeria in Wednesday night’s Afcon semi-final. File Picture: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix
TROTT Moloto believes Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana will succeed where his own men failed 24 years ago by progressing to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations via victory over Nigeria on Wednesday evening.
Moloto, the last coach to earn South Africa a medal at the biennial continental tournament, has been impressed by the current crop of the senior national team players and is confident they will get the better of the Super Eagles in Bouake, Ivory Coast on Wednesday night (7pm kick-off).
“For sure, they will,” Moloto said, without hesitation.
“Hugo Broos has a very strong team that he has managed to put into a great unit.
“We have a well-trained and well-prepared team.
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“I believe the boys will go out there and individually put up their hands and stand tall for their country as a collective. I am not scared of Nigeria for Wednesday’s match.”
Moloto was not scared of Nigeria back in 2000, when he led Bafana against the Super Eagles in a failed attempt to reach a third successive Afcon final.
“As a team we had the belief we could beat Nigeria back then. We had a strong team with players playing all over Europe and those who were at home played for the top class and were big-name players, too.
“We played very good football and we had beaten another host, Ghana, in the quarter-finals. So, we were confident even though Nigeria were highly rated and had quality players.”
A poor start that saw Nigeria take the lead in the opening minute, however, threw the proverbial spanner in the works of Moloto’s well-laid game plan.
“Of course, it becomes very hard when you concede as early as we did and we lost that match because of the unnecessary mistakes we made at the wrong times, not because we were not good enough.
“And it was not as though Nigeria were much stronger and overpowering us, too.
“Looking back, I believe we really had a good game and were very competitive. We just did not succeed where it mattered most. But that’s the nature of football.”
He is trusting on Ronwen Williams and his troops to exact sweet revenge on behalf of his team for what transpired back in 2000.
“Nigeria owes us big time and they are going to pay. I know that we have a brave captain in Ronwen, who will not be scared and will do something great to inspire the team.
“He leads from the back and reads the game very well, so he will be the one telling his teammates what exactly it is they need to do. And he has an amazing back four in front of him that has shown time, and time again that they can compete with everyone,” Moloto said.
He went on to rattle off the strengths of the back four, who all play for the club he works for, Mamelodi Sundowns, while highlighting the individual brilliance of the midfielders and forwards to illustrate the potency that Broos has at his disposal to get the better of Nigeria.
“Broos has done a great job with this team and I believe we will win,” he concluded.
Matshelane Mamabolo
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