PH
 Shakes Mashaba |
Senegal were on Monday confirmed as South Africa’s opponents in the Nelson Mandela Challenge on September 8, with the showpiece clash taking place just three days after a crunch Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Mauritania.
There are several more key encounters scheduled for the month of October, including back-to-back clashes with Angola in the African Nations Championship.
And the busy international programme comes to a close in November as Bafana face Angola again, both home and away in the 2018 Russia World Cup qualifiers.
While he admitted the busy schedule did not fill him with excitement, Mashaba did welcome a regular run of games for side.
“You ask me if I am excited to play these matches and my answer is that there is no excitement, only pressure,” Mashaba told Sowetan Live.
“People know just how tough it is to be on the road in these qualifiers, so I am happy when we get to play a number of games because it keeps us on our toes.”
He added: “There is no point in playing now and then again six weeks later. I am happy to have a regular programme because you can only pick up momentum if the team is playing regularly.”
Upcoming Bafana Bafana fixtures:
September 5: v Mauritania, Cup of Nations, Nouakchott
September 8: v Senegal, Nelson Mandela Challenge, friendly, Soweto
October 8: v Costa Rica, friendly, Liberia
October 13: v Honduras, friendly, San Pedro Sula
October 17: v Angola, CHAN, TBA
October 24: v Angola, CHAN, Luanda
November 13: v Angola, World Cup, Benguela
November 17: v Angola, World Cup, Durban
