Shakes Mashaba says their two upcoming friendlies against Swaziland and Nigeria are very important for Bafana Bafana as they are already preparing for the 2017 Afcon qualifiers

Coach Shakes Mashaba

Bafana take on Swaziland on March 25 in Mbabane, before facing the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Mbombela Stadium four days later.

“These are very important matches, even the way they are structured because if you remember well when we played the 2015 Afcon qualifiers they were like this, and soon we will be going back to the qualifiers again. So, this is a good exercise for us as it prepares us well,” Mashaba said at a press conference yesterday.

“Our main task is to build a new team, a team that will bring results. I know many will say we are playing Swaziland they are weak, but we have to be careful because many countries are regrouping. As we are going to Swaziland, we should not forget that any team that play South Africa wants to win.

“As for Nigeria, we know they are tough, arrogant and you can never be arrogant when you are not confident. So, we have to go and compete, not just tactically, but also mentally and physically. Let’s not forget they might come here spitting fire because we denied them a chance to go to the Afcon. So, it is going to be a very tough encounter,” Mashaba said.