iDiski TV analyst Junior Khanye has raved about the performance midfielder Sphephelo Sithole put in as Bafana Bafana edged Egypt in a friendly on Sunday, further pointing out two areas Yaya can improve on.
Sithole was one of the two surviving starters from the 5-0 thrashing of Eritrea in the 2027 AFCON Qualifier against the Egyptians in Cairo.
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The Tondela FC man was paired with Durban City’s Brooklyn Poggenpoel in midfield as Bafana defeated the Pharaohs 1-0 to make it three out of three wins in the Pitso Mosimane era.
Khanye said ‘Yaya’ mastered his position however advised him to learn how to attack space and scan his surroundings for the Portugal-based midfielder to be even better than he is currently.
“Well done to Yaya for holding the ball, I mean you do not have to panic every time,” said Khanye on iDiski TV.
“If you panic in that position, the team will never have a good game. Him and Poggenpoel complimented each other. Number one he needs to attack the space with the ball. If there is no one next to you, go with the ball, push it, make someone commit and then play. That will make him a different player from any guy on the street.
“Secondly, he needs to scan like Poggenpoel. For instance, the ball he received during the World Cup on the D line. If he had scanned, he’d have played it back to [Ronwen Williams] Ronza and Ronza would have played a long ball.
“Those are the two things very important. You must know where you are going to pass before you receive it. It will make things easy for him.
“Other coaches play him at centre-back because of the physic and he masters the position, he stays in his position, and I think that’s what they noticed in Europe and that he wins balls in that area.
“But once he wins the balls he plays negatively but in today’s game a round of applause he played very well, I need to be honest. He just needs to play forward.”