Bafana Bafana winger Thapelo Morena has expressed confidence they can overcome the impressive Cape Verde side to secure their place in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.
Morena has been one of the standout players in Broos’ squad as they finished second in Group E behind Mali, before their 2-0 win over tournament favourites Morocco in the last-16 round of the competition.
“I think it’s going to be a difficult game, if we put our minds to it and continue what we’ve been doing, especially like against Morocco, we definitely can grind and grab something,” Morena told iDiski Times.
“We know, we’ve seen their videos, they are a very physical side, they run when they get chances, they are converting, so it’s something we need to do also when we get our chances, we finish.”
With Hugo Broos stating beating the Atlas Lions could prove the catalyst for confidence towards a potential run to the final, Morena said it’s now up to the players to show how much they want it.
“I think after beating the favourites, it’s up to the players and actually, do they want it more [to win AFCON] or not?
“Because after you don’t know who you’re going to get [later in the competition] but for now it’s Cape Verde, we have to give twice the effort we have against Morocco because they know we beat Morocco and will bring their A game against us.”
Bafana have been synonymous of performing against high-profile opposition and struggling against the so-called smaller teams in the past – and the Mamelodi Sundowns utility-man says it’s all down to mentality.
Speaking off record to backroom staff, it’s been noted that the Masandawana players are showing immense desire to win the title for the country, and in his short response, it showed signs of where the mindset of the squad is.
“I think it’s the right mentality, it’s something we as players… do we want it more than Cape Verde? Are we looking at the bigger picture, are we willing to run more? What we did against Morocco? Can we double those efforts?”
