While there can be no denying that Bafana Bafana were thrown into a group from hell in Wednesday night’s Africa Cup of Nations draw, Shakes Mashaba and South Africa can take solace in the country’s record against their opponents.
Bafana have never lost to any of the other three teams in Group C at the biennial, continental showpiece finals.
Top seeded Ghana, Africa’s top ranked Algeria, as well as Senegal will battle it out with South Africa for the top two spots that will guarantee quarterfinal participation at the 16-team tournament to be hosted by Equatorial Guinea from January 17.
Granted, statistics and records are nothing more than numbers about past matches on a piece of paper with very little influence on the outcome of future matches. But when he takes his team to Mongoma, the supreme motivator that is Mashaba will no doubt tap into those to inspire his boys.
He will remind them of the fact that back in 1996 when Bafana conquered the continent, they did so having accounted for both Algeria and Ghana en-route to the final.
Clive Barker’s team beat the Desert Foxes 2-1 in the quarterfinals, Shoes Moshoeu scoring the winner five minutes from time, 60 seconds after Lazizi had canceled out Mark Fish’s 72nd minute opener.
Next up for Bafana were that great Black Stars side of Tony Yeboah and Abedi Pele and many on the continent thought the hosts’ brilliant run would be halted. But an inspired Moshoeu brace sandwiched a wonder strike by Shaun Bartlett in Bafana’s best performance of the tournament on a balmy Johannesburg evening for an emphatic 3-0 win.
Any thoughts these successes were due to homeground advantage were dispelled at later tournaments, Bafana holding Algeria 1-1 in the group stage of the 2000 edition. They immediately went on to break Ghanaian hearts in their own back yard with a Siyabonga Nomvethe goal in a 1-0 quarterfinal win at the Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
Bafana’s only Afcon clash with Senegal came at the 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana. The teams met in Kumasi for the final group match that petered out in a 1-1 draw which saw both teams eliminated.
Admittedly, all that happened a long time ago, with Ghana a much stronger outfit with plenty of World Cup experience, as are Algeria, who reached the second round of the global showpiece in Brazil back in June.
Senegal were fantastic in the qualifiers, the Lions of Teranga dishing out such organised tactical displays en route to topping their qualifying group.
Mashaba, who has also turned Bafana into a competitive side, agrees it will be a tough ask to get out of the group.
“A tough group that we find ourselves in with all four teams coming from different regions so it needs a lot of spying, planning ... because all three teams are very good ... Ghana, Algeria and Senegal,” said Mashaba from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, after the draw. “What we can say to South Africans is that even though it is a tough draw, we are going there to compete.” - The Star