Igesund expects another good showing

The side gave a good account of themselves before losing 1-0 to the South Americans on Friday.

And it is from this brave showing that Igesund expects another good performance when Bafana welcome Mozambique at Mbombela Stadium tomorrow evening.

Kick-off 20h35.

"If we play the way we did against Brazil, then we should get a victory against the Black Mambas tomorrow," Igesund said after the team training session on Monday.

Igesund however, said one thing he needed to emphasize to his charges was guarding against complacency.

"We played very well against Brazil and the boys were all fired up and they need to be equally pumped up when we face Mozambique. We need to have the same passion, drive, commitment and attitude in all our games," said Igesund.

"There are a lot of positives that came out of the Brazil match which we need to explore. The enthusiasm of the players was great. But there are still lots of areas that need improvement. We shouldn’t get carried away by our performance against Brazil, but that was a good foundation."

Bafana are likely to make at least more than two changes to the starting line-up that played against Brazil following the injury to striker Dino Ndlovu as well as the departure of Kagisho Dikgacoi, who has returned to his club.

"I have to try other options. We are looking at the bigger picture which is the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations; it’s not only about playing your strongest team; we have to try various options going forward," added Igesund.

The Coach’s sentiments were echoed by midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala who said following the Brazil game, fans were expecting nothing short of victory against Mozambique.

"In Brazil we did well as a collective, it is unfortunate that we lost in the end. As for the Mozambique match, the expectations are high because we played good football against some of the best players in the world. Naturally people are expecting us to beat Mozambique and I believe we are up to the challenge. We need to continue where we left off in South America," said Tshabalala.

"We set ourselves very high standards against Brazil, and it’s up to us now to maintain that performance when we face Mozambique."

The South African Under-20 Men’s National Team will play Botswana as curtain-raisers to the Bafana/Mozambique game.

That match kicks-off at 17h30.