Bafana must keep clean sheet against Zimbabwe to seal AFCON last-16 spot, says Sibisi

Nkosinathi Sibisi might have been stating the obvious when he said Bafana Bafana must stay tight at the back to progress to the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). But the central defender, who plays his club football for Orlando Pirates, was spot on.

Keep a clean sheet against Zimbabwe in Marrakesh tonight and Bafana are guaranteed a place in the Round of 16 at the biennial continental showpiece in Morocco. Even if Angola were to pull off the unthinkable and beat Egypt in their match, which will be played simultaneously with the ‘Limpopo’ derby, South Africa’s senior national team will reach the knockouts simply by avoiding defeat against the Warriors.

Granted, they would rather finish in the top two, but a third-place finish with four points should be enough to see Bafana progress. The rules of the six-group tournament state that four of the best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 16.

Bafana, however, are not looking to sneak through the group phase. Far from it. According to Sibisi, they are going for broke against neighbours who always take pride in making things difficult for their so-called big brothers.

“It’s very important to get the result tomorrow. We are focused. We want to avoid losing that game. We know a victory will be good motivation going into the next round. We are looking forward to playing and getting the result,” he said.

And he knows exactly how they should achieve it.

“Being solid as a team and keeping a clean sheet will take us a long way. We conceded two goals now, but in the previous tournament (AFCON 2023 in the Ivory Coast) we kept clean sheets which helped us reach the semifinals. I think that’s going to be very important.”

The clash against a Zimbabwe team that always lifts its game against Bafana will be made all the more difficult by the fact that the Warriors must win at all costs to have a chance of progression. But Bafana are ready for the challenge.

“When it comes to motivation, we are always motivated to play against Zimbabwe. We played them in (World Cup) qualifiers, but tomorrow’s game won’t be easy because of the rivalry between neighbours. We had the upper hand in the qualifiers, yet tomorrow won’t be easy. But if we bring our A game and focus on the match at hand, we will definitely go through.”

Having beaten Angola in their opener and then controversially losing to Egypt following some unusual VAR decisions, Sibisi says Bafana have already learned valuable lessons.

“I think the biggest lesson we’ve taken from the tournament is that ‘it is not how you do it, you just have to do it’. You have to get a result, and we saw in the previous two games – we fought well against Angola and secured a 2-1 victory.”

Sibisi came unstuck against Egypt, albeit due to some dubious refereeing decisions he prefers not to discuss. He did not feature in the opening matches, with Siyabonga Ngezana partnering Mbekezeli Mbokazi in central defence. But the experienced defender remains very much part of the squad and understands how key senior players are to ensuring the team’s success.

“Everyone is capable of delivering at any given time. Our job as senior players is simple – we must keep the younger guys level-headed. Securing those first three points was a boost and took some pressure off. With a younger squad, you don’t always know what to expect, which can be challenging. But we can definitely overcome it.”

The task for Bafana is straightforward: keep a clean sheet and a spot in the Round of 16 is theirs.