Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter was not buying Nigeria counterpart Gernot Rohr’s assertion that South Africa are now the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) favourites after shocking hosts Egypt in the last-16 on Saturday night.
Baxter expressed his belief in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday for Wednesday’s quarterfinal against the Super Eagles at Cairo International Stadium (kickoff 9pm)‚ that Rohr was playing mind games.
The Bafana coach was eager to preserve the underdog tag for his team that worked so well for them in a bulldog spirit 1-0 shock of host nation Egypt in front of 75‚000 home fans at Cairo International on Saturday.
“Not at all. I think the Nigerians are absolutely one of the best teams on the continent. They have been for a long time‚” Baxter said.
“They have been a powerhouse of African football for a long time. And one game doesn’t make us favourites.
“I think Gernot would love to have that tag as underdogs‚ and in that way slip the pressure from you guys [Nigeria].
“But I don’t think he’s fooling anybody to tell you the truth.
“No‚ we’ll go into the game as we do every game.
Bafana Bafana getting ready for the Super Eagles of Nigeria on Wednesday.
Kick off 21h00 pic.twitter.com/kGIg0nrl4d— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) July 8, 2019
