Bafana Bafana’s in-form attacker Percy Tau will hope his inside data of Moroccan soccer can assist South Africa at this time, as they tackle the Atlas Lions at FNB Stadium of their remaining Group Okay Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.
With each groups already certified for the AFCON finals, the strain may be very a lot off for this encounter, however there’s nonetheless loads to play for, particularly for Bafana, who want all of the confidence-boosting they’ll get forward of the event within the Ivory Coast early subsequent yr.
Taking down an aesthetic Morocco aspect, who completed fourth on the World Cup finals in Qatar on the finish of final yr, would definitely be a feather in Bafana’s cap, and Tau might be a key man in unlocking the Atlas Lions defence.
The 29 year-old is recent off winning the Caf Champions League with Al Ahly final weekend, as they took down Wydad Casablanca within the remaining, whereas in addition they beat Raja Casablanca within the quarterfinals.
Morocco rely rather a lot on overseas-based stars, in fact, boasting of their ranks the likes of PSG wing-back Achraf Hakimi, Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech, and Sevilla striker Youssef El-Nesyri.
There is a Wydad affect too, nevertheless, particularly by head coach Walid Regragui, who gained the Caf Champions League on the helm of Wydad in the identical yr that he guided the Atlas Lions to the World Cup semifinals.
“The coach is from Wydad, and there are some traits I watched in their (Morocco’s) games, which are similar to how Wydad play,” mentioned Tau, who scored a header towards Wydad within the first leg of the ultimate, considered one of 5 targets he scored within the competitors, together with 5 assists.
“But the national team has other ingredients, with their players from abroad.”
In glowing kind
Tau, in the meantime, has a easy rationalization for his beautiful return to kind at Ahly this season.
“I am injury free,” he mentioned.
“I have suffered a lot, coming in and going out, I couldn’t get any momentum. I have been getting used to the guys in Egypt and what the coach (Marcel Koller came in as head coach in September) demands, but the biggest thing is that I am not injured.”
There can be additional motivation for Bafana to do effectively at this time, in the meantime, in reminiscence of the late Clive Barker, the 1995 Africa Cup of Nations successful head coach, who was laid to relaxation in Durban this week.
“I am sad for the Barker family, to have lost a great person, who contributed so much to the country, and to football. The whole country is sad about losing him and we would love to give him a good send off,” mentioned Tau.
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