Johannesburg - On the face of it, South Africa should have little trouble dispatching of Liberia in their back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The two countries square up in Group K clashes on Friday at Orlando Stadium and then four days later in Monrovia in a bid to book a place at the biennial, continental showpiece to be hosted by Cote D’Ivoire next year.
Both Bafana Bafana and the Lone Stars have lost their opening matches to Morocco 2-1 and 2-0 respectively in a group reduced to three teams after Zimbabwe were disqualified following their ban by last year.
Liberia, renowned for having produced the only African player to win the coveted Ballon d’Or in George Weah who is currently the country’s political president, are no world beaters and never have been.
This is, after all, a nation that has only played at the AFCON twice (1996 and 2002) and got knocked out in the group stage on both occasions.
Ranked 46th in Africa and 150th in the world in comparison to Bafana’s 12th and 67th, the Lone Star will bring to Orlando Stadium a squad teeming of home-based players.
ALSO READ: Kaizer Chiefs' three-prong attack prove they can thwart defences
They are captained by the 23-year-old midfielder Allen Njie who plays for Swiss outfit Aarau. Others who ply their trade out of Liberia are the Sweden-based duo of Seth Hellberg who plays for Brage and Degefors’ Justin Salmon as well as Mousa Sanoh plays for Eindhoven in Holland and Brem Soumaoru of York United in Canada.
Following their 2-0 defeat to Morocco, Liberia fired their coach Thomas Kojo and replaced him with Ansumana Keita who has called for patience as he tries to settle into his new job.
“I am not God,” he has been quoted as saying “But I will do my best. People who doubt me, I love them.”
And he has doubters aplenty alright. One of those is former Lone Star player and coach James Debbah who described Keita’s appointment on a two-year contract as “a scandal of gigantic proportions and a recipe for disaster”.
ALSO READ: Franck Kessie's stunner hands Barcelona comeback win over Real Madrid
“He is a youth development coach who has never been tested at senior national team level and never played for the Lone Star.”
But Keita, who has 15 years coaching experience, has remained unmoved by such criticism.
“People who criticize me, they are the best. They make me work hard. They keep my feet on fire. So I can’t do wrong. I will do my best and will never disappoint my country.”
The proof will have to be in the pudding though and history would seem to suggest that Keita has bitten on more than he can chew.
After playing their home game against Morocco out in Casablanca because their stadium was not suitable for international football, Liberia will now host Bafana in Monrovia after the venue was upgraded.
ALSO READ: Cristiano Ronaldo hands team-mate winning penalty as gesture of respect
It gives them a slight advantage and they will look to at least hold the South Africans to a draw at Orlando Stadium on Friday with the belief that they would then reign victorious in their own backyard.
This will not be the first time Bafana Bafana and the Lone Stars face each other in competitive internationals, the two countries having been in the same group for the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Back then, a Bafana side that had a hair-raising flight to Monrovia – forced to circle because of thunderstorms, then divert to Freetown in Sierra Leone to refuel before carrying on to their destination – earned a 1-1 draw there before reigning victorious 2-1 in the return leg at home.
A similar outcome would see Bafana qualifying for next year’s finals, although Keita would tell you that will not happen under his watch – the fact that he is ‘not God’ notwithstanding.
@Tshiliboy