Santana not afraid of Nigeria

2008-08-27 14:11

Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana side stepped questions about the pressure he is under to beat Nigeria in a must-win 2010 African Nations Cup Group Four qualifier in Port Elizabeth on September 6, but talked tough when naming his 23-man squad to face the Super Eagles.

"I respect Nigeria. I was impressed by what they did in Beijing. I am not afraid of them. No team is unbeatable," said Santana.

He also stressed he had a plan. "I never go into a game thinking I am going to lose. I try and win every game I am involved in and this will be the same. We know what we have to do."

The Nigerian under-23 side won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing which ended at the weekend. They lost 1-0 to Argentina in the final.

Said Santana: "Nigeria are a good side with plenty of experience. We will be working hard at training in Port Elizabeth to do the job against Nigeria."

But Nigerian coach, Shaibu Amodu, has named a potent squad to play Bafana in their penultimate Group Four qualifier despite the fact the Super Eagles have already won the group and a place in the final round of qualifying games for the 2010 continental showpiece that will be staged in Angola.

Poor showing

Bafana have to beat Nigeria in a competitive game for the first time since 1992 to stand any chance of reaching the next phase of qualification.

Bafana's poor showing in the four qualifiers in June where they collected a mere four points from as many games, means they not only have to beat the high flying Super Eagles at home, but must also defeat Equatorial Guinea away in October when they end their Group Four programme.

But Santa is unfazed: "We showed good form especially in the first half of our friendly match against Australia in London recently and the spirit was also superb off the field."

But already Santana is looking past the disastrous Afcon qualifying programme. He said: "We are building a team for the 2010 World Cup finals."

As expected Santana made few changes to the squad that did duty against the Socceroos. He has brought in two central defenders, Mbulelo "OJ" Mabizela of Mamelodi Sundowns and Russian based Matthew Booth who captained the SA Under-23 side at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Booth has been out of favour for the past three years and he and Mabizela come in as cover for suspended captain Aaron Mokoena.

Goalkeeping spot

Santana said he would name a new captain after training next Monday, but added Macbeth Sibaya, who was captain when Mokoena was injured for the home 0-0 draw against Sierra Leone, is an option.

Rowen Fernandez of Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld comes back to challenge Kaizer Chiefs young star Itumeleng Khune for the goalkeeping spot and Orlando Pirates hard working midfielder Lebogang Mothibantwa gets a welcome call-up.

Meanwhile SA Football Association chief executive officer Raymond Hack, announced Bafana were hoping to squeeze in a friendly against Guinea at the Super Stadium in Atteridgeville on Tuesday September 8.

Said Hack: "We are 95% sure Guinea will be able to play. All we need to do is be able to reroute the Guinea teams' air tickets from Harare where they play Zimbabwe on September 7.

"I am confident we can sort out their new travel arrangements as Santana is keen to utilize the extra Fifa date that week."

Bafana will assemble in Johannesburg on Sunday and arrive in the Windy City on Sunday night. They begin training for the Nigeria clash on Monday. All the overseas players are expected to arrive by Sunday night in PE.

- SAPA