Orlando Pirates midfield workhorse Makhehleni “Cash” Makhaula expects his Bucs teammates to dominate the Bafana Bafana World Cup squad, also relating how senior players at the club are pushing their younger teammates to work harder ahead of the global spectacle.
“We want to see these youngsters go to the World Cup and represent us nicely…probably there will be more players from us [Pirates] who will go to the World Cup. You can see the likes of [Lebone] Seema are raising their hands,” Makhaula said.
“Here we have younger players who are willing to learn. They also listen to the coach and to us as senior players. If we don’t push these youngsters, they are not going to do well…they must always know that there’s Cash, [Nkosinathi] Sibisi, [Sipho] Chaine and other senior players who will always be there for them.”
Even so, the 36-year-old Makhaula, who’s expected to play a key role when Pirates face Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium tonight, suggested that his age could be a stumbling block to his chances of making the World Cup squad, despite his fine form of late. The World Cup will be co-hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19 this year.
“If it happens, it happens but if it doesn’t happen I am not going to cry over it because there are a lot of good youngsters in my position who can do the job. It’s good for South African football to go for younger players,” Makhaula said.
At the last Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), Pirates had eight representatives in the Bafana squad, namely Chaine, Sibisi, Thalente Mbatha, Sipho Mbule, Relebohile Mofokeng, Evidence Makgopa, Tshepang Moremi and Oswin Appollis.
Meanwhile, ahead of Pirates’ visit, Rise and Shine coach Phuti Mohafe has highlighted that their target this season was to do better than last season.
“Our target has always been clear: to do better than last season. Last season we finished on 35 points in position seven, so we must do better than that,” Mohafe said.
League fixtures (all at 7.30pm)
Tonight: AmaZulu v Magesi, Princess Magogo; Chippa v Marumo, Buffalo City; Durban v Sekhukhune, Chatsworth; Sundowns v Arrows, Loftus Versfeld; Polokwane v Pirates, Old Peter Mokaba.
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