Bafana Bafana defender Nkosinathi Sibisi has emphasized that the team’s
intensity will not drop for Saturday’s friendly against Zambia, treating the
match with the same competitive fire as a World Cup qualifier.
With the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) next month, the match in Gqeberha is
South Africa’s final confirmed fixture to fine-tune their preparations.
Despite its friendly label, the squad is determined to maintain their
positive momentum under coach Hugo Broos.
According to Sibisi, the motivation in camp remains sky-high regardless of
the occasion.
“The motivation is always the same in camp, whether we are playing a
friendly game or a qualifier,” Sibisi told the SAFA media team. “We’ve
always trained as if it’s our last training session because we don’t take it
for granted that we are here. It’s always a privilege to be here and you
have to earn your spot.”
The Orlando Pirates defender acknowledged the challenge ahead, stating, “We
have a mammoth task against Zambia. We are playing at home and we have to
make it count.” He also dismissed any notion of looking past this match
towards AFCON, adding, “We can’t look ahead to AFCON. We have to think about
the game on Saturday.”
This mindset echoes coach Hugo Broos’s directive that the team will not
treat the clash as a mere friendly. Sibisi fully endorsed this approach,
promising a fierce but disciplined performance.
“We totally agree with the coach, there is no such thing as a friendly
match,” Sibisi declared. “As soon as you wear that jersey and you are on
that pitch it’s war, but it’s a peaceful war. Come Saturday, all guns will
be blazing.”
