Johannesburg - Shakes Mashaba is tempted to throw the entire national Under-23 team that played in the Olympics in one of Bafana Bafana’s matches to see how they will handle the transition.
“The Olympics are a bridge to the senior national team,” Mashaba said. “The way those boys have played, one of the games we should take the whole squad and see what happens. But the problem is that we (as a country) tend to look for results speedily. We don't want to build towards something because if we take long to promote these boys, they will lose hope.”
Mashaba said this on Wednesday night after the announcement of the 18-man squad for the Nedbank Cup Ke Yona team that will take on SuperSport United at Sinaba Stadium on September 4. That was before the Olympics team bombed out of the Games on Thursday.
They finished at the bottom of Group A after they couldn't beat Iraq. The post and Itumeleng Khune saved the side from another defeat.
Before that match, calculators and permutations came out to explain what needed to happen for them to make the knockout stage.
They could have made things easier for themselves had they built on their good performance where they held the hosts Brazil to a goalless draw in their opening match. But they missed a number of chances in the 1-0 defeat to Denmark to put themselves in an awkward position before they took on Iraq.
Real life in the form of the senior national team is next.
Abbubaker Mobara and Aubrey Modiba raised their hands to graduate to Bafana among those who aren't already in their set-up. Mashaba could give the pair a chance in next month’s clash with Mauritania in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier that’s meaningless to Bafana because their dream there is also over.
It’s unlikely he’ll take the whole squad as he made that statement with a hint of caution. There is no denying that there was plenty of talent from the squad that played in the Olympics. But bizarre and inconsistent selections hurt the team. Tyroane Sandowns, who is based in Brazil, didn’t play a single minute.
Players were shifted all over the pitch despite specialists in those positions sitting on the bench. But coach Owen Da Gama blamed injuries to Mulomowandau Mathoho and Lebogang Mothiba for the team’s failure to get maximum points that would have taken them to the quarter-finals.
“From a defensive point of view we missed Mathoho,” Da Gama said. “He is our strongest player at the back. The Iraqi game is based on aerial balls. But I think Tercious Malepe, one of the youngest players in this tournament, put up a brave performance (in his place).”
The Star