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Pitso: Bafana future is bright

ohannesburg - Pitso Mosimane is excited about the future of Bafana after seeing Thulani Serero and Daylon Claasen shine against Burkina Faso on Wednesday night.

With captain Steven Pienaar and fellow midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane injured, it gave Mosimane the perfect opportunity to test a number of his younger players.

Also coming to the party were Andile Jali and Thanduyise Khuboni who were outstanding in the centre of the park.

Mosimane is already preparing his side for Brazil 2014 where the bulk of the squad could be made up of the current under 23 team and if Wednesday's assured performance is anything to go by, admittedly against a disrupted opposition, then the future is bright.

The coach said: "We need more players like Thulani and Daylon. That is my plan for the next four or five years.

"We usually have Pienaar to provide those defence-splitting passes for Katlego Mphela to convert, but we didn't have him against Burkina Faso. We are not going to have his services for the next two matches and that is where Serero comes in. The future looks good for this Bafana team.

"I was happy with the way we held on to the ball using Claasen and Serero. I had to pull Serero out later in the match because he struggles with hamstrings, but you can see there's something special about him.

"He [Jali] plays week in week out for Pirates and was their player of the season. His fitness level can never be questioned, because on the international stage I can play him anywhere in midfield."

Mosimane did, however, reveal that he is concerned about the fitness of a number of his squad, while Pienaar, who has already undergone surgery on his injured groin, will not be available for the team's next two Nations Cup qualifiers against Niger and Sierra Leone

"As far as I'm concerned he (Pienaar) is a 'write off' for these next two games. And I'm worried about (another injured midfielder) Reneilwe Letsholonyane at the moment.

"You could see that some of my players were not match fit, Tsepo (Masilela) has been training with the Moroka Swallows reserves as he sorts his future.

"I'm trying to broker a deal with the PSL and the clubs with about 17 days to go because I need to get the players match fit.

"I don't know how yet because you have to be careful in not interfering with the clubs and their players.

"I will see. but I am very worried."

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