Mannetti to ring in changes for Cosafa Cup Plate semi-final

POLOKWANE, 03 JUN  – Brave Warriors head coach, Ricardo Mannetti plans to make several changes for the team’s match in the 2018 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup Plate semi-final against either South Africa or Madagascar on Tuesday.
The match will be played at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa.
Speaking to Nampa on Sunday at the end of the team’s training session following their 4-3 penalty shootout loss to Zambia, Mannetti said some of the changes will be forced on him due to injuries, while others will give him a chance to give some players game time and assess them.
“Kaka (Panduleni Nekundi) is definitely out as he suffered an injury against Zambia, Deon (Hoto) is 60 to 40 per cent likely to play as he also felt both hamstrings during the match,” he said.
He added that following their elimination from the Cosafa Cup proper, the objectives now shift to the Plate tournament as well as preparations for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Zambia in September.
“We will also assess who we will play as Bafana Bafana (South Africa) will face Madagascar later today (Sunday), then we can really decide who will play and who will sit on the bench,” he said.
Mannetti added that he was delighted to have played Zambia at Cosafa as it helped him analyse their next opponents in the Afcon qualifiers.
The coach added that he was satisfied with the way the players applied themselves tactically following the introduction of the 3-5-2 formation by the technical team.
“Overall, I was happy but there were things I did not like, especially as some of the players failed to follow instructions on how they should play,” Mannetti added.
Zambia will now play in the semi-finals where they will face either South Africa or Madagascar.
The Cosafa Cup, comprised of 12 teams, started on 27 May and ends 09 June.

NAMPA