Bafana Bafana captain Mario Booysen says they will have to put their challenges aside if they are to garner victory against Zambia in the first leg of the Chan qualifiers.

Stuart Baxter’s side have seen a number of players withdrawing from the 25-man squad set to do duty against Chipolopolo, and although subsequent replacements were called up, questions will be raised about the quality of the Bafana side.

Booysen, however, refused to focus on those issues and said that they will look to compete with what they have.

‘At the end of the day it is football, we have to adapt to the situation, it is another challenge for us, but one that we have to overcome,’ he told safa.net.

‘It may seem like it has affected the preparations, but it is really nothing to look into because all of the guys that are here have a good attitude. The players that have come in look just as ready.

‘The fact is that we all have a responsibility to do our duty and perform for the national team, because when all is said and done, you really look forward to this moment in your career of representing your country.

‘We don’t see any negatives, but only positivity, so we have to get a good result,’ he added.

Booysen highlighted the fact that Bafana are full of confidence heading into the encounter on Saturday.

‘We are quite confident, especially playing in East London, looking at the way the fans welcomed us when we arrived here.

‘We know there is a lot of support coming from this side, and we just have to come up with the correct performance. You can also see at training, and you can tell the guys are very confident.

‘It is important that we do well in the first leg because we don’t want to go to Zambia next week needing to get a result, as it will be more difficult when we travel for the return leg.

‘The most important thing is to not concede, but on the other hand we need to score goals to stand any chance of winning this two-legged affair and qualifying for the tournament.

‘We have done very well up to this point, so we need to keep it up, and take it a notch higher, as Zambia is not an easy team. We have had our challenges this week, but we will put them aside come match day,’ he said.

The two nations clash on Saturday, 12 August 2017, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00.

Photo: Safa.net