Bafana Bafana legend Doctor Khumalo believes Hugo Broos’ men can beat Nigeria 2-0 on Tuesday evening, citing a quote from the late Clive Barker to explain Bafana’s advantage over the Super Eagles.
Bafana enter the game as Group C leaders, having picked up 16 points from the first seven games, while Nigeria sit in third with 10 points, needing a win to keep their hopes of qualifying alive.
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Although a draw would already be enough to keep Nigeria six points away with two games left to play, Khumalo believes Broos’ side can beat the Super Eagles.
“I don’t really do predictions, but Velile can attest to this because at SABC I’ve got it right twice already,” he said when asked by iDiski Times during a 10Bet event.
“Based on what I saw [from Nigeria] vs Rwanda and what I saw [from Bafana] against Likuena, I’ll go 2-0 Bafana.”
When he was made aware of the size of some of the Nigerian players, Khumalo recalled how former Bafana coach Barker told his players ‘an elephant can’t move’.
“I respect Nigeria, the game has evolved. I recall a time when we went to Nigeria for the first time in 1994 and lost 4-0,” he continued.
“I was in the dressing room with Bennet Masinga and Ace Khuse, and the great Stephen Keshi and said ‘I need ball boys’ walked in and we all turned and we were all like ‘what the hell’ – he was huge. So what’s new?
“Clive [Barker] used to say whenever we play against those kinds of teams ‘An elephant can’t turn’. So, if you say, ‘An elephant cannot turn’ and what I saw against Likuena, I think Hugo Broos has selected a formidable side in terms of the tactical approach for the two games.
“I’m looking at the likes of [Oswin] Appollis, I’m looking at the likes of [Mohau] Nkota, [Mike] Sebelebele, [Lyle] Foster… If he says the elephants cannot turn, will they be able to deal with the speed factor that the South African players have?
“These players have evolved, we’re not playing the way we used to, you could see the tactical approach against Likuena, when we were countering it took them seven seconds to be in the final third of Likuena, that on its own it was Arsene Wenger that introduced this tactical approach.
“If our boys can do the same against Nigeria, the speed factor, I think, Nigeria will have a problem with….
“I think it’s going to be an exciting game with Bafana using home advantage.”
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