With AFCON looming, Igesund's honeymoon is almost over

With four matches and a 50% win record under his belt, Gordon Igesund should by now have an idea of how his team will look for next year's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Sport24 columnist S'Busiso Mseleku says.

Igesund must be sensing that the honeymoon will soon be over and he will have to swallow his pride and bite his lip as questions start emerging. Some already say Bafana Bafana are going nowhere, slowly.

As he cast his player-selection net very wide, Igesund was able to dispel the long-standing destructive myth that the South African national soccer team belongs to a few individuals. The coach's search has unearthed England-based Dean Furman who can easily be described as the best find this time around. The player introduced himself with aplomb in his first appearance for the country against Brazil. Others, like Dino Ndlovu, who was substituted after 13 minutes against Brazil with a shoulder injury, must still prove why they are in the team.

Igesund's approach has created a very good competitive spirit within the team. He faces four more friendlies before AFCON starts on January 19 and this should give him ample time to settle for the team that he believes will deliver and help him meet the mandate given to him by the South African Football Association (SAFA), to reach at least the semi-finals at the competition, Mseleku says.

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