CHAN: South Africa prepared for tough challenge against Uganda – Ntseki

South Africa coach Molefi Ntseki has shifted focus to the do-or-die TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) fixture against hosts Uganda in a bid to secure qualification to the quarterfinals.

Bafana Bafana failed to build on their hopes to qualify following a 0-0 draw against Niger at Nelson Mandela Stadium on Friday. During the Group C clash, there were two VAR penalty reviews denied against South Africa while referee Bouchra Karboubi issued four yellow cards to Bafana.

Ntseki has discussed the importance of their fixture against Uganda, who are topping the group.

“No team has secured qualification yet, which makes the tournament even more exciting. Monday will be decisive for all of us. We’ll be playing against a team that has had more rest, but we are prepared for the challenge,” Nteski told CAFOnline.com.

“In tournament football, there are three possible results: win, draw, or loss. Today we drew, and this keeps us in the fight for qualification. Now we are fully focused on the next game.”

On facing Niger, Nteski confessed: “We knew it would be a tough game. Niger had nothing to lose and played with a lot of determination. They showed that they learned from their previous matches and made things very difficult for us. In the end, they were the ones celebrating the draw, while we had hoped for more.”

After Friday’s matches, Uganda remained top of Group C with six points while second-placed Algeria and third-placed South Africa retained their places on five points each. Group C remains wide open and will be decided on Monday, when South Africa battles Uganda, and Algeria tackles Niger in the final matches of the group.