Bafana Bafana were so clinical and convincing in their 4-0 thrashing of Gambia on Saturday at the Independence Stadium in Bakau, that it was only natural for fans to suggest all their future games should be played away from home.
The victory came via two goals each from striker Thamsanqa Gabuza and winger Keagan Dolly.
As far as permutations go, coach Shakes Mashaba’s men, with only six points from five qualification matches, still have a mathematical chance of progressing to the Afcon in Gabon next year as one of two best runners-up from 13 groups across the continent.
Mashaba did not delve too much into that slim chance Bafana have of qualifying.
“We have heard incredible stories in the past and never say never in this game,” the coach explained. “Anything is possible. That (the 4-0 win) was total football from the boys and it only goes to show the amount of potential we have in this country.
“Winning by such a massive margin and away from home shows this team can go places. Gambia had constantly warned us that they wanted to humiliate us to finish the campaign on a high.
“But my boys had other ideas, their desire to win, the hunger in their eyes and will to do something special was there for all to see.”
With a spot in Gabon highly unlikely, Mashaba will do well to keep the core of his team at the weekend heading into the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
The draw to determine the five qualification groups, with the outright leaders heading to Russia for the global showpiece, will be conducted on June 24 at Caf headquarters in Cairo.
It will be another mammoth task for Bafana, who will not be seeded for the draw because of their world ranking (68th overall and 15th in Africa) and are almost guaranteed to have one of the powerhouses in the continent as an opponent.
However, beating Gambia, was a great start towards building momentum ahead of those World Cup qualifiers, which are set to begin in October. - Cape Ti mes