Arthur Zwane makes bullish Bafana AFCON claim | OneFootball

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Zwane on Bafana AFCON chances

Photo: Arthur Zwane

AmaZulu FC head coach Arthur Zwane has boldly stated that Bafana Bafana have what it takes to return from Morocco with the coveted Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy.

South Africa are in Group B with neighbors Zimbabwe, record seven-time African champions Egypt, and Angola, whom they kickstart their campaign against on Monday, 22 December.

With the curtain raiser looming, Zwane heaped praise on Hugo Broos and the technical team, and firmly stated that Bafana are firm favorites to reign supreme in the upcoming edition.

“I'm sure everyone is proud firstly that the national team has qualified for the World Cup and also qualified for AFCON. We deserve it, when you look at how we carried ourselves,” said the former Kaizer Chiefs mentor.

"I've always said give credit where it's due, I think coach Broos and his assistant Helman [Mkhalele], any other [technical team] member that is part of the national team - I think they've done exceptionally well.

"We wish them well and I fancy our chances, looking at how we qualified. We outplayed some of the top countries in the continent. I don't see any reason why we don't go all the way to the final of AFCON this time around, in preparation for the World Cup.

Furthermore, the Usuthu tactician believes with a plethora of young talents in the national team fold, the country is set for a bright future and in line to export more players like they used to in the past.

“When you look at the future that is in that squad as well, there's lot of players that are going to play the World Cup probably three times if we do qualify in the next coming years, and AFCON they want to play,” Zwane noted.

"So, you need that experience and that will also help a lot of players. We can easily now export players to overseas like we used to do as a nation. So, we are so proud and we wish them all the best of luck. We just hope that things can go well in terms of going all the way to the final of AFCON.