Bafana confident of bagging maximum points against Nigeria
Smiso Msomi
Bafana Bafana defender Nkosinathi Sibisi has expressed the belief that the national team will be able to take all three points against Nigeria in their 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday.
Head coach Hugo Broos is putting the final touches to his preparation for what is expected to be a tough task in west Africa. The Super Eagles will host Bafana at the Uyo Stadium at 9pm on Friday, with hopes of beating Broos’ men for the second time in six months.
The two teams last met in an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) semi-final in January, which Nigeria won via a dramatic penalty shootout.
Sibisi, who was a part of that squad in Ivory Coast, spoke to the media at the Dobsonville Stadium on Monday. The rock-solid defender waved away any suggestion that Bafana would head to Nigeria with a conservative approach.
Broos’ 23-man squad is made up of 13 players from Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
The 28-year-old Sibisi, who won the Nedbank Cup with Pirates last weekend, said: “I think we are all a bunch of winners and therefore we always try our best to win football matches.
“Keeping a clean sheet in both of those games will give us a higher chance of actually winning the game. Keeping clean sheets has been the core of our game.
“I think we can’t rely on securing a point in Nigeria because going into every game, we are always trying to win. If that is not possible then we’ll take the draw, so it’s no different with this encounter as well, and as the coach stated, if we aren’t able to win, then we’ll at least get a draw.”
Bafana were the surprise package at the last Afcon and have placed themselves as one of the teams for the big boys to look out for, having also played out to a 3-3 draw against Algeria in the last international break.
Sibisi revealed how motivated Bafana are to try make history by securing qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
"It’s a matter of mentality and confidence. I think with the group we have now, we can compete with the likes of Nigeria on Friday and if we can show that sort of mentality then we can get the right results.
“It’s a dream for everyone to be able to play at the World Cup and now we have our opportunity to take the country there, so we’ll do our best to get to the World Cup.”