Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena admits there’s a major change in expectations for the national team in the current Africa Cup of Nations.
Having finished third in the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast, after being written off before the tournament started, Mokoena, a pillar of the side admits it’s a different energy and expectation in Morocco.
South Africa have qualified for the round of 16 behind Group B winners Egypt, having secured wins over Cosafa rivals Angola and Zimbabwe, while narrowly losing 1-0 to the record seven-time champions Egypt.
“Of course, we’ve been winning as a team and now there’s bigger expectations as a team, they expect us to win every game we play,” Mokoena said.
The Bafana squad have come under major scrutiny, with performances being questioned but Mokoena, who stated the tournament starts at the last-16 stage says it’s clear this time around there’s pressure to succeed.
“In the previous AFCON, many thought we’d be back in the group stages. Now it’s a different story, they want us to go through to the finals.”
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