S’Africa Ready For The Scorpions

South Africa will begin
their quest to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations when they host Gambia for their opening Group M match tomorrow. Kick-off at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium is set for 15.00 CAT.
Bafana Bafana will be looking for a repeat of their impressive qualifying campaign for the 2015 edition, which saw Shakes Mashaba’s side surprisingly top their preliminary group ahead of Sudan, Congo and then-reigning champions Nigeria.
They may have gone on to disappoint at the finals in Equatorial Guinea, dropping out of the tournament at the first hurdle, but there was enough promise shown to suggest that South Africa are at least on an upward curve.
That momentum is something Mashaba and his troops will have to rebuild, starting with this match against the Scorpions – a team the hosts admit to knowing very little about.
Gambia has never qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations and they were not even allowed the chance to do so for the previous edition due to a ban applied by CAF as punishment for deliberately fielding an average player in a 2015 African U-20 Championships qualifying match.
They have a new coach in charge, with Swiss Raoul Savoy taking charge of the team earlier this month. The 42-year-old has worked in Cameroon, Morocco, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Algeria and the Central African Republic in his career on the continent.
South Africa and Gambia have never met in an official international match before, according to FIFA statistics.
The other Group M match played this weekend will see Cameroon host Mauritania in Yaoundé on Sunday.
Madagascar’s Hamada Nampiandraza will referee the game between South Africa and Gambia in Durban.