AYANDA Gadlela Machawe of Eswatini is challenged by Liam Bern of South Africa during their Cosafa Cup match. BackpagePix
HELMAN Mkhalele, the stand-in head coach for Bafana Bafana at the ongoing Cosafa Cup, has expressed his pleasure at the pool of players he had at his disposal during the tournament.
Assistant to Hugo Broos in the ‘senior’ Bafana set-up, Mkhalele took charge of the national team for this year’s edition of the competition and weaved together a fairly young group of players.
However, after drawing their first two matches, Bafana were eliminated from the tournament yesterday despite winning their final group match against Eswatini at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.
When reflecting on the game and the entire competition, Mkhalele expressed that he was very optimistic about the national team’s future when looking at the pool of players he has managed over the last two weeks.
“I would say as the technical staff, I am quite happy with some of the boys that I have seen here, that I believe raised their hands in the three games in terms of getting closer to the senior Bafana Bafana team that plays in the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers (under head coach Broos),” he said.
“They raised their hands, and I am quite happy because this tournament will go a long way in us knowing that there are players we identified here who can step in.”
The 54-year-old tactician could not hide the fact that he and his team were not happy about being eliminated at this stage of the competition.
“It is disappointing that we’re not going into the next round, even though we won our last game, but these are some of the hard lessons that one is going through right now,” Mkhalele said.
The Cosafa Cup has been a debate-riddled competition for several years as it takes place in the off-season, which has seen clubs reluctant to let their players participate.
Bafana squads of the past have been groups made up of either Under-23 players or free agents.
Clubs and players have also been sceptical about whether performances in this competition actually contribute positively to their chances of forming part of Broos’ squad.
Mkhalele explained how significant the competition has been, and will continue to be, for the national team and waved away suggestions it might be “a waste of time”.
“Yes, they have a chance, they have a real chance, and in actual fact, for example, Ethan (Brooks), I was with Ethan in the Under-20s in 2020, He was also in the Cosafa squad in 2022, and in the same year he was in the senior team.
“So, for us, we just look at whether a player can play in the national team or if he has those qualities we are looking for that can help the team,” he explained.
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