Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Bafana Bafana left-back Sifiso Hlanti says the national team are in pain after their goalless draw against Libya in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group E qualifier.
MUST READ: Who should take the blame for Bafana's poor showing in recent games? - Votes are in
Bafana had the chance to take charge of the group but put in a lackluster display and were fortunate to escape with a point in the final reckoning.
Stuart Baxter's men next face whipping boys Seychelles in their next two matches knowing that only maximum points will be acceptable. Nigeria beat the minnows last weekend and are now in third behind South Africa in second and the Libyans in first.
Nonetheless, Hlanti expressed his dismay at the draw with the Mediterranean Knights. He told KickOff website: "Eish my brother, we are also not happy as players.
"We expected to win even though it wasn't going to be easy. So, the draw wasn't good enough for us. The more you collect points in these qualifiers, the more things get easy.
"Unfortunately, in the weekend game it didn't happen. It hurts, especially to us because if you remember that we didn't qualify for the World Cup.
"We want to qualify for AFCON. But we are still positive, it's a bigger challenge for us because this draw killed us.
"Nothing is easy in football, blaming people won't help because whoever was chosen to be in the starting line-up it's because of his qualities.
"So, we won't take that [away] from those players and the technical staff as well. We just need to keep going."
BAFANA BAFANA'S AFCON QUALIFYING FIXTURES:
Nigeria 0-2 Bafana Bafana (October 6, 2017)
Bafana Bafana 0-0 Libya (September 8, 2018)
Bafana Bafana v Seychelles (October 10, 2018)
Seychelles v Bafana Bafana (October 13, 2018)
Bafana Bafana v Nigeria (November 16, 2018)
Libya v Bafana Bafana (March 22, 2019)
