CHAN: South Africa will tread with caution against Guinea – Molefi Ntseki

South Africa coach Molefi Ntseki has revealed their desire to play with caution when they face Guinea in an African Nations Championship (CHAN) match at Nelson Mandela National Stadium in Kampala on Monday.

While Guinea will head for the Group C clash reeling from a 3-0 defeat to Uganda, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana will arrive with a single point from their 1-1 opener against Algeria.

“We will be going into this game fully aware that they are a very offensive team. They’ve got some very good individual players that can hurt you anytime, given a chance. We always give respect to the teams and also zoom into those individuals in terms of how we want to play offensively, how we want to play defensively,” said Nteski.

“The other thing that we have seen of Guinea, they’ve got very good headers of the ball. So set-plays are also a concern for us when it comes to the moments of the game. This will always determine the results of the game.

“Transition-wise, they’ve got a very good number 7 (Aboubacar Bangoura), the number 10 (Alhassane Bangoura) playing in midfield, a very solid centre-back in the number 5 (Bangaly Cisse) and then the number 23 (Kabinet Kouyate). As I am saying, they are a good team but we’re also ready and we came here with one objective, one mandate, to do well in this tournament.”

Defeat for either South Africa or Guinea on Monday could spell the end of their CHAN 2024 hopes. Victory, on the other hand, would inject belief, momentum, and a lifeline heading into the final round of matches.