Former Bafana Bafana defender Eddie Motale says he is backing the national side to advance beyond the group stages in the African Cup of Nations.
Motale, who was part of the squad that won the 1996 African Cup of Nations, also won the 1995 African Champions League with his club, Orlando Pirates.
Speaking to TimesLive ahead of the tournament Motale said: “I think we’ll go to the next round.
“I’ve a strong belief that we’ll get a point against Mali, we’ll beat Shalulile’s Namibia and then we’ll go to the next round.
“The balance of the team is fair because you have young and old players, and they will complement each other with energy and experience.
“But Afcon is a big stage and if you didn’t plan well, whether you have all the Maradonas and the Peles, it’s going to be difficult for you,” he said.
South Africa are in Group E where they line up alongside Namibia, Mali, Tunisia.
“I just hope that the coach and his technical team have planned very well even though I know they didn’t hold camp for a long time. I think they only had a two-week camp and in terms of weather or climate I’m not sure if SA will cope.
“Fortunately, most of the games will be played at night but the country is very humid. But I think we’ve got a very formidable squad that can go through to the next round.
“Fatigue can be crippling but it also depends on the training. If the training wasn’t toned down, it was hard, then definitely fatigue will catch up with them,” he warned.
