JOHANNESBURG – Bafana Bafana are in action tonight against neighbours Mozambique, in an international friendly, to be held in Maputo, the last match for the team in 2016.
South Africa go into the match, fresh off the back of a massive victory over Senegal, in their Group D World Cup qualifier in Polokwane on Saturday and they will be hoping that they can carry that momentum in the match.
Head coach Shakes Mashaba will not be in charge of the team, as he’s serving suspension handed to him by the South African Football Association (Safa) for what they had termed a “regrettable incident”.
Mashaba’s second in command, Owen Da Gama, will lead the team into battle, with Thabo Senong deputising him.
Bafana have a near-perfect record against the ‘Mambas’, having beaten them six times in seven meetings since 1995 and losing just once, in a Cosafa Cup match in 2009.
The last match between the two was back in January 2014, which Bafana won 3-1.
The match will likely serve as an opportunity for some of the players who did not feature against Senegal to get a run, players such as new striker Lars Veldwijk, Sibusiso Vilakazi, Ayanda Patosi and May Mahlangu.