Ajax Cape Town assistant coach Mich D’Avray is excited to see how Rivaldo Coetzee shapes up against Sadio Mane when Bafana Bafana face Senegal at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.

The 20-year-old defender has featured regularly at the centre of the Bafana Bafana defence.

D’Avray praised Coetzee’s quality and says he is excited to see how well Coetzee does against Liverpool striker Sadio Mane.

‘We are proud of Rivaldo, we all know he is still young and has extraordinary qualities as a player,’ D’Avray told the Ajax Cape Town website.

‘The fact that he may face Mane could be an interesting duel for him and his Bafana teammates as well as his club teammates.

‘He follows our former player, Abbubaker Mobara, who marked Brazil’s Neymar in Brazil during the Olympics.’

D’Avray is confident that the South African national team can overcome the Senegalese side and qualify for the World Cup in Russia.

‘We are proud of the boys and we wish the national team including Rivaldo all the best as we are confident they can reach the World Cup.

‘He is getting game time in the national team and that means he will grow, which in my view will come back to help the club.’

The match kicks off at 15:00.

Image: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix