South African footballer Junior Khanye remains upbeat that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will go all the way to reach the finals of the 2023 Africa Cup Of Nations (AFCON) tournament npflupdates.com reports.
The Super Eagles will come up against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa on Wednesday evening as they battle for a final ticket at the ongoing AFCON tournament.
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While Nigeria defeated Angola last weekend to reach the semi-final, the Bafana Bafana saw out Cape Verde, beating them 2-1 on penalties.
And for the first time in over two decades, the two bitter rivals will come up against each other in an AFCON final.
Reacting ahead of the Nigeria game, Junior who was capped just once, expressed worry over the form of his countrymen.
What Junior said about the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana clash
According to the former Kaizer Chiefs playmaker, Nigeria’s defeat of the Bafana Bafana will serve as a wake up call.
“We have to be realistic, we were not at our best,” Khanye was quoted by Goal .
“We didn’t play well. We could have lost that game. But, luckily, we were very lucky. And listen, I’m saying we were very lucky, but we also need to give to Ronwen Williams [some credit].
“He was the star of the show and saved those penalties very well, we have to give credit to him for that. But, when it comes to playing, we were terrible. We were defending too much,” he added.
“I think yesterday’s game was our worst at the tournament when I look at the other matches. I don’t think that we were at our best, any team can beat us. Look at the chances that Cape Verde created, it’s all luck.
“Any of those chances could have easily gone in. But again, we have to say thank you for our defence. They did a very important job despite Cape Verde creating chances. It’s over for us. As I said, we are lucky to be where we are at the moment,” continued the ex-Kaizer Chiefs star.
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The former South Africa’s U-23 playmaker added, “Nigeria is going to beat us, and that’s when we will get a wake-up call. I’m not saying this because I’m being negative, but it’s just me stating facts.
“I love Bafana Bafana, and I want to see them doing well. But, this is our last game, those guys [Nigeria] are going to punish us.”
