AFCON 2015: Ghana opponents South Africa eyeing opening victory over Algeria - Masango
South Africa midfielder, Mandla Masango, says beating Algeria in their first game of the 2015 African Cup of Nations will give his team a welcome boost in a tough group that involves Ghana.
Masango has been a regular in Shakes Mashaba’s Bafana squads over the course of their AFCON qualifying campaign, helping them as they managed to make it to the finals without losing a single game.
Now, as the team prepares to leave for Gabon ahead of their final warm up games, the 25-year-old says that everyone in the team is confident of having a successful tournament.
Speaking to the media, Masango said, “The mood is fantastic and everyone is looking forward to the tournament. In any major tournament it’s important to win your first game, it gives you the confidence and spirit to qualify for the next round or even go further.
“Everyone knows what is expected of them. Playing at the junior tournaments has prepared me to do well in the senior team, and we know a lot of the other players playing for their national teams because we’ve played them before.
“I think we stand a good chance of qualifying for the next round. Our players are hungry to do well for the country and change the mentality of football in South Africa. Every game is a cup final in a tournament because you only get one chance, we need to make sure that we get a positive result in our first match and then take it from there.”
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