The Bafana Bafanas of South Africa
Deputy captain of South Africa, Siyanda Xulu, says his outfit will not be complacent against Ethiopia after beating the Black Stars in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers last month.
The Bafana Bafana inflicted a 1-0 win over the Black Stars at the FnB stadium which led to the sacking of coach Charles Akonnor.
South Africa sits top of Group G after two rounds of matches and are hoping to maintain the lead.
Coach Hugo Broos side will take on Ethiopia away on Saturday before the return fixture in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Despite beating Ghana, Siyanda Xulu says the side has a long way to go if they are to qualify for the World Cup next year.
He said the team will not be complacent beating Ghana as they seek to book qualifications.
“We don’t want to be complacent about what happened against Ghana, because we know very well that we were able to perform the way we did because of the preparations we had and the respect we gave to Ghana,” said the 29-year-old center-back who plays for Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League.
“We are going to do the same thing against Ethiopia. They are going to earn our respect and we are going to prepare the way we always do whenever we play our tough encounters.”
“That we have beaten Ghana and now we think that we have reached whatever it is that we want to reach, no.”
“We are not even nearly there. We have played two matches but it does not mean anything, because there are still four matches to play.”
“The fact that Ethiopia is sharing the same [three] points as Ghana shows that it is never easy.”
“We watched the Ethiopia match against Ghana before we played Zimbabwe and they were competitive.”
“They were getting into Ghana’s box, they were having chances and missing them, which shows they are a good team and they deserve respect.”