SuperSport United goalkeeper Boalefa Pule says he is looking forward to Bafana Bafana’s opening Cosafa Cup match against Tanzania, which takes place today at 17:00.
The SuperSport goalminder is one of three goalkeepers named in Stuart Baxter’s side, the other two being Ajax Cape Town’s Darren Johnson and Kaizer Chiefs’ Bruce Bvuma.
Pule revealed that preparations for the tournament have been going well since arriving at camp on Friday, 30 June.
‘Everything has been going well at training and hopefully what we have been working on we will be able to implement in the match against Tanzania,’ he told Safa.net.
‘Most of us will be making their debut for Bafana Bafana so it will be a very special game for all of us.
‘We just have to go out there and do the best we can, so we can make the nation proud.
‘We have the biggest advantage, because most of the boys have been with assistant coach Thabo Senong in the U20 Men’s National Team, so there is some continuity in the team. Also, most of us know each other well as we played in the U20 and U23 national teams, so this is an opportunity for us to also continue what the coach started in Nigeria with that famous win,’ he added.
Pule spoke about the importance of every individual performing to their best of their ability if they are to be selected for future national team call-ups.
‘It’s every player’s dream to play for Bafana Bafana, and if I do get the chance I will make the most of it.
‘The coach has been telling us that no one owns the jersey in the national team, so it’s a chance for us to raise our hands for the next qualifying games to tell the coach we are here and want to be part of that squad.
‘There are two ways of looking at it – it might seem easy, but that borders on complacency, you have to be more professional about it and guard what you are doing because it might be easy to grasp some of the things the coach wants, but it may on the other hand push to you to relax because you think the coach knows what you can do – so it’s a thin line between knowing the coach and doing what he wants. It’s an advantage if you are professional about it,’ he concluded.
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/Backpagepix
