CHAN 2014: S’Africa Coach Targets Victory Over Eagles:

South Africa coach Gordon Igesund says Bafana Bafana must not lose Sunday’s decisive African Nations Championship Group A final clash against Nigeria in Cape Town.
The tournament hosts are tied on four points in the  table  with Mali  and only need a draw against  debutants Nigeria, who are third on the log with three points,  to advance to the quarterfinals.

But the Eagles face a must-win situation at the Athlone Stadium to seal their place in the next stage of   the competition popularly called CHAN,  and Igesund expects the African champions to fire  on all cylinders.

“We now have to apply our minds for the Nigeria match, but we will go back to work and prepare well for that game,” the 57-year-old was quoted by supersport.com as saying during the week.
“Every game we play, we play to win, even if we need a draw we will play to win it. This is a very tough group and all the matches haven’t been easy.
“Our result puts pressure on everybody in the group because it is very close. I think people underestimated the quality in this competition and we certainly have to get a result against Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi  admits that he is wary of the threat South Africa trio of Siphiwe Tshabalala, Itumeleng Khune and Bernard Parker  will pose when the Super Eagles take on  Bafana Bafana  on Sunday.

Keshi  fears   Kaizer Chiefs  stars Tshabalala,  Khune and Parker, who have been  in sparkling form for their country in the championship for players playing their trade in their countries, could deny his team a ticket to the quarterfinals.
Midfielder Tshabalala has  85 caps for South Africa; goalkeeper Ikhune 62; and striker Parker 65.
And  Tunisia ’94 Africa Cup of Nations winner  Keshi said the Eagles must give everything in the encounter to keep hope alive.

“We’ll see what happens on Sunday. Bafana has a very good team,”  the former Nigeria captain  was quoted by SAPA as saying during the week.
“Siphiwe Tshabalala, Itumeleng Khune and Bernard Parker — they are experienced players and they can change the game any time. So it’s going to be a very difficult but we will try and do our best.
“I have watched both their games, and they have what it takes. So we must be very, very focused. The concentration level of our team needs to be high to withstand them. And they have a very good coach, that’s my problem. The coach has to go home.”