Bafana Bafana
Bafana happy with SWC draw
2011-07-31 18:56
Pitso Mosimane (Gallo Images)
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Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane said that he was happy with the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw but warned that they should not take their three opponents lightly when they meet.
In the draw that was conducted on Sunday evening in Rio de Janeiro, Bafana were given a fairly easy passage to the tournament that will be staged in Brazil.
In Group A they have Botswana, the Central African Republic and the winner of the Somalia and Ethiopia preliminary round match.
The 2010 World Cup hosts have steadily climbed up the world rankings in the last year despite dropping two places to 49th in the world in the latest figures released by FIFA last week.
"It is a fair draw, but something we cannot take for granted," said Mosimane.
"I am happy with the draw and also confident that we can do well.
"Make no mistake though, it's not going to be easy because the level is higher here, so we have to double our efforts to make it to Brazil."
Mosimane noted that Botswana were the first country to qualify for next year's Africa Cup of Nations set for Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, and that the Central African Republic have had an impressive run during their qualifying campaign and are on the verge of a historic first major tournament participation at the expense of more favoured Morocco.
"Botswana is a threat and their current form in the AFCON qualifiers is proof of that," Mosimane said.
"The Central Africa Republic is a surprise package and if they go unchecked they could cause us a problem and have also done well in their difficult group.
"Ethiopia recently drew with Nigeria, so they can't be taken lightly and could be a tough customer."
The African teams were divided into 10 groups for qualifying matches that will start next year in November with Bafana one of the seeded teams.
The winners of these groups will advance to the next round of knock-out matches where five will qualify for Brazil.
African zone draw:
Group A: South Africa, Botswana, Central African Republic, Somalia or Ethiopia
Group B:Tunisia, Cape Verde Islands, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea or Madagascar
Group C: Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Gambia, Chad or Tanzania
Group D: Ghana, Zambia, Sudan, Lesotho or Burundi
Group E: Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, Sao Tome e Principe or Congo
Group F: Nigeria, Malawi, Seychelles or Kenya, Djibouti or Namibia
Group G: Egypt, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Comoros or Mozambique
Group H: Algeria, Mali, Benin, Eritrea or Rwanda
Group I: Cameroon, Libya, Guinea-Bissau or Togo, Swaziland or Congo DR
Group J: Senegal, Uganda, Angola, Mauritius or Liberia.