The Legendary Siphiwe Tshabalala Idenitifies SA’s #1 Problem in AFCON
Former Bafana Bafana player Siphiwe Tshabalala has identified South Africa’s biggest problem in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2023.
Following their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Mali in the Afcon opener, Tshabalala has seen where the team needs improvement.
Siphiwe Tshabalala has the answers to Bafana Bafana’s AFCON problems
The focus falls on strikers Evidence Makgopa and Zakhele Lepasa, raising concerns about their effectiveness on the pitch.
Hugo Broos’ squad faced a challenging start to their Afcon campaign, suffering a 2-0 loss to Mali in Group E.
The match revealed difficulties in scoring goals, with Evidence Makgopa initially leading the attack, later substituted by Zakhele Lepasa in the 73rd minute.
While defensive mistakes led to Mali’s goals, Tshabalala spoke about how the team’s struggle to shine in the attacking third as the primary setback.
Siphiwe Tshabalala’s opinion
Speaking about the team’s performance, Tshabalala acknowledges the skill and ability of Bafana’s players but points out the need for strong finishing in the final third.
He suggests building on the positives of their first-half display against Mali and calls for an improved second-half effort with an extra 10% effort.
Tshabalala spoke about the importance of converting chances to avoid punishmet as it was critical factor in their defeat.
“We have got skilful players, very dynamic, confident and comfortable on the ball,” said Tshabalala as per FARPost.
“We just need to be clinical on the final third. I think if we can play the way we played against Mali in the first half and have a strong second half with a little bit of extra 10%, then we will win games.
“But, we also need to make sure that the chances that we create we convert them because that’s how we got punished [by not converting chances].”
Siphiwe Tshabalala knows what it takes to score for Bafana Bafana
While Makgopa and Lepasa faced challenges upfront, supporting attackers such as Percy Tau, Themba Zwane, and Thapelo Maseko also struggled to make an impact.
The absence of Burnley forward Lyle Foster and France-based Lebo Mothiba further highlighted the team’s struggles in the number nine role, leaving Mali’s defenders largely untroubled.
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