SHAKES Mashaba’s stint with Bafana Bafana will come to an end after Tuesday’s (7pm) Nelson Mandela Challenge match against Egypt at Orlando Stadium.
SunSport has learnt from highly placed Safa officials that the national association won’t take another risk with the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, starting in a month’s time.
Mashaba did not qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament in Gabon.
On Friday, Bafana were held 1-1 by lowly-ranked Mauritania in a match that left Mzansi’s soccer fraternity very disappointed.
The entire qualifying campaign has been a disaster.
A Safa official said: “The coach had a two-pronged mandate – to qualify for the 2017 Afcon and the 2018 World Cup. He did not qualify for the Afcon and what guarantee do we have that he will get the team to the World Cup? It’s much of a risk. We are halfway through his mandate and the question is what to do in this scenario.”
The SA Football Association president, Danny Jordaan, said the performance against Mauritania left a lot to be desired.
If Jordaan’s words are anything to go by, Mashaba and his technical team are on their way out.
The usually calm president could not hide his frustrations as he tore into the team’s lacklustre performance.
It’s clear that Jordaan demands answers. Bafana have been drawn with Cape Verde, Burkina Faso and Senegal in Group D World Cup qualifiers.
Bafana’s first World Cup qualifying match is away to Burkina Faso on 3 October.
Jordaan said: “I’m very disappointed and I’m sure everyone is. The CEO (Dennis Mumble) and the coach (Mashaba) must submit their reports. And then the CEO must advise as to what is the next step.
“This is an admin matter. Whether the coach’s job is safe or not will depend on the CEO’s report.”
Jordaan insisted he doesn’t expect the type of performance that the team displayed against the minnows in future.
Jordaan said: “What we saw against Mauritania was disappointing and we can’t continue to talk about the same things. We want to see a better performance against Egypt and hope that we will see it.”
Mumble said he will meet with the technical team on Monday and also with the Technical Task Team and the Technical Committee later in the week to discuss the performance.
