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Bafana players as good as Mane, claims Chiefs' Rama

Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele believes the national team's players 'are as good as' some of the top class Senegal stars they will face in Saturday's Group D World Cup qualifier.

Liverpool's in-form Sadio Mane headlines a visiting Lions of Teranga side that also includes the likes of West Ham United's Cheikhou Kouyate and Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly.

Also in coach Aliou Cisse's squad are players from Italy's Serie A, Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's La Liga and France's Ligue 1.

In addition, Mane is in prolific touch for the Reds and has hit six goals in 10 appearances so far this season. The forward got a brace in a most recent 6-1 demolition of Watford.

However, Mphahlele is of the belief that some of Bafana's top performers can match their seemingly more illustrious opponents.

Rama told the Sowetan: "We see guys like Mane and others, but that does not mean anything. We also have players who play overseas. We have locally-based players who are as good as Mane and the other Senegal players.

"We showed this against Burkina Faso who have players playing in Europe like (Bertrand) Traore at Ajax Amsterdam. We showed we are as good as them."

Saturday's action gets underway from Peter Mokaba Stadium at 15:00.

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