Zebras secure Egypt friendly

THATO KALA
Correspondent | Tuesday September 21, 2010 00:00

 

The trailblazing Zebras, whose stock has been on an incessant rise since the beginning of the qualifiers, thanks to a bright start in the AFCON qualifiers, will visit the Pharaohs of Egypt on 22 October.

On that same weekend, other teams in the group will slug it out as the qualifiers continue. The Zebras lead Group K after an impressive 10-point haul from four matches.

National team coach Stanley Tshosane is excited about the prospect of playing Africa's number one team.He believes the tie will give his charges enough challenge to brace up for their next game against Tunisia in November.

'I think our next two qualifiers will be decisive; so we have to do our best in preparing for them. This is why I'm excited about playing strong opposition like Egypt,' Tshosane told Mmegi Sport.

Egypt, ranked ninth in the world, will give the Zebras a chance to gauge themselves before taking on Tunisia who will be out to revenge after a shock 0-1 home loss at the hands of Botswana.

The Egyptians have requested, through a South Africa-based agency, that Botswana lines up a full strength squad for the tie.

Tshosane equally believes in the importance of foreign-based stars' availability for the game and intends to call his South Africa-based contingent including Diphetogo Selolwane of SuperSport, Orlando Pirates' Phenyo Mongala, Bay United's Modiri Marumo and Santos' trio of Jerome Ramatlhakwana, Boitumelo Mafoko and returnee Mogogi Gabonamong.

'I'll ask the South African clubs to release the players for the Egypt game. It will be important for our preparations and having all the players will be ideal.

'I also want to assure people that Mogogi's issue is over. His concern was the insurance and appearance fee, but he realises that [that] could be a bit of a challenge for the association and has pledged to come and play for the love of his country.'

Tshosane, however, added that the Santos' captain would, like any other player, have to work his way back into the team.

Meanwhile, Jerome Ramatlhakwana's move to Vasco Da Gama hit a brick wall and Tshosane is hoping that Santos' coach Booebie Solomons will give the Zebras' marksman some game time.

'I was hoping the Vasco Da Gama move would materialise because he would have probably been given a chance to prove himself.

'But I spoke to him three days ago and he told me that the deal was called off. It's quite a sad situation because we all know what Jerome is capable of, but there is little we can do to convince Boobie to play him.

'I told him to continue working hard because his chance will certainly come.'

JJ, as Ramatlhakwana is affectionately known, is currently the qualifiers' joint top scorer with Mamadou Niang of Senegal.