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South Africa coach Stuart Baxter was very forthright in what Bafana Bafana would do in their round of 16 game against hosts Egypt at the Cairo International Stadium Saturday, without revealing much.
Classic case of a poker player.
When asked what tactics he would employ against the home nation, who are favourites to win the tourney and will be backed by an anticipated 75,000 passionate fans, the Scot said: “I will be playing looking for an upset. The first thing will be to quieten the crowd.”
He elaborated: “The crowd will come with enthusiasm. It will be our job to quieten them down, to frustrate them. When the home team is playing the home support can lift them, it can also weigh them down. Players can sense it if the crowd is getting impatient.”
How he does that will be the big question as Bafana Bafana have not been at their best in recent times.
They struggled to qualify for the 2019 Afcon and just made it to the round of 16 as the last placed of the four third placed finishers in the group stage with two losses (1-0 against Cote d’Ivoire, 1-0 against Morocco) and a 1-0 win against Namibia.
Baxter, who is in his second stint with South Africa at least revealed that they will want to show the South African philosophy of playing attacking football.
“It would be a national disaster if they lost to us. For us, if we lost, it will just be disappointment,” said the former England Under-19 coach who also handled Finland for two years.
Baxter said it would be an inspiration playing the home team and the big players they have, most notable Liverpool’s star forward Mohamed Salah, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet of Turkish club Kasimpasa, Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny and the astute Aston Villa defender Ahmed Elmohamady.
The Scot will have to do without Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Themba Zwane who he considers a key player in his offensive play.
Egypt coach Mexican Javier Aguirre conceded that the expectations of the Egyptian people was high and the team would have to deal with that pressure.
Three matches won, with a clean sheet and counting. So far, so good for the hosts.
