Makaab calls for Bafana to be more compact against South Sudan in AFCON qualifier

By Ayanda Nyuswa

Gagasi FM Sports specialist Mike Makaab has called for Bafana Bafana to be more compact in their second 2025 AFCON qualifier against South Sudan to avoid conceding soft goals. Hugo Broos’ men produced a late come back to get a point in a 2-2 draw against Uganda at Orlando Stadium on Friday, and will turn their attention to their second AFCON qualifier against South Sudan away from home Tuesday afternoon. 

South Africa conceded two soft goals that could have been avoided as Uganda came from a goal down to lead 2-1 in the second half. Siphephelo Sithole was dispossesed in midfield which led to Denis Omedi’s equaliser, whilst Veli Mothwa was largely at fault for the second goal, as he failed to handle Rogers Mato’s long range effort that put the Cranes ahead. Thalente Mbatha rescued a point for South Africa with a 95th-minute equaliser on debut.

Speaking on Extratime on Gagasi FM Makaab believes Bafana Bafana need to be more compact in their shape, especially in moments where they are without the ball.

“I just think we gotta be more compact as a team”, said Makaab. I have said this on many occasions it is all very well going forward and stringing passes together and playing with pace and all those sort of things, but quicker you play the game the more difficult it becomes for you as a team to keep, and I am gonna go back to the word compact, and for me compact doesn’t only mean your defenders and strikers being close along the length of the field, it also the width for me that is important. 

“If you going to go forward and do so with pace, make sure when it breaks down and there’s a transition that you have enough bodies in that particular area to press the ball and to stop the opposition from hitting you on the counter. Uganda hit us on the counter, not only on those two occasions, on more than one occasion we were a little bit suspect when they came at us aggresively and with pace. We have got to up our level of aggression, our level of intensity has got to improve and we have got to take our chances. I thought we had a number of chances in the first half to put the game to sleep and if you don’t do that at this level you ultimately gonna pay the price and that is what Bafana did against Uganda,” Makaab concluded. 

Bafana Bafana will face South Sudan at the Juba Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, kick off @15h00