Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams and his deputy Percy Tau believe they can go all the way at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast.
The 2023 tournament will be played next year, and will see South Africa return after missing out on the 2021 showpiece in Cameroon.
And Bafana’s leaders, have taken a “go big or go home” stance as they prepare for the competition.
“We believe we have a strong team when everyone is back from their injuries. I feel like you guys should look forward to this Afcon and we’ll do you guys proud,” Tau said, according to reports.
“The chance is there for us to go all the way. We don’t have to put other people higher than us. That’s the first thing we need to do going to the Afcon, it’s to believe in ourselves that we can do it as well,” said Tau, who plays his football in Egypt for Al Ahly.
“We did it before but we could not beat Nigeria. The coach said that the group is difficult at the Afcon but it gets better after the group. We want to do something that has never been done before.”
Tau’s sentiments were shared by skipper Williams, who added that in Hugo Broos, the team have a coach who has experienced it all before.
Broos famously guided Cameroon to the continental title in 2017. After masterminding South Africa’s qualification for the tournament, he’ll be looking to win the tournament for a second time.
“We have a coach that has the experience on how to win it and has done it before with Cameroon,” said the Bafana captain.
“We can see it happening again and we’re peaking at the right moment. He has his squad and the spirit is high in camp and we believe we can challenge and go all the way.
“We need to dream big, why go all the way there if we don’t believe we can win it. We have to get out of the group, that’s the main thing. And like Percy said it becomes much more easier.”
Broos’ men will tackle Namibia and Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday and Tuesday as they prepare for the continental showpiece in Ivory Coast, and qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
IOL Sport