Bafana Bafana captain Neo Maema is ready to lead the side to their first qualification of the African Nations Championship in over a decade.
The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder who played a starring role in overcoming Egypt in the previous round of qualifiers, returns to the squad now with Malawi leading 1-0 from the first leg in Lilongwe last week.
He was among six players called up for the second leg which is scheduled for Sunday at Loftus Versfeld, and he replaces Kwanda Mngonyama with the armband, who returns to vice-captain, as confirmed this week by head coach Molefi Ntseki.
“Some of the players here don’t play much in their teams, me included, so it’s always nice before the big occasion to just put (in the work) and see how far we are as a team, so that the coaches prepare us in a proper way, so that come Sunday we get the results,” Maema said, via SAFA.com.
“I mean it has been twelve years since we qualified for the competition, and as a leader of the team, it is very important that I encourage the guys and tell them it is very important for us to make it to the CHAN tournament, and it will be history with this group of players.
“It is not only just about this game or qualifying, but also about putting our names in the history books, which is important for us in our careers, individually and as a team.”
The game kickoff on Sunday afternoon in the nation’s capital at 15h00 with a place in the 2025 CHAN to be decided.
