{"id":23811,"date":"2025-08-19T14:34:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T12:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=23811"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:00:38","slug":"bafana-bafana-acting-coach-ntseki-defends-squad-after-chan-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/bafana-bafana-acting-coach-ntseki-defends-squad-after-chan-exit\/","title":{"rendered":"Bafana Bafana Acting Coach Ntseki Defends Squad After CHAN Exit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>South Africa\u2019s early exit from the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) left fans disappointed, but acting coach Molefi Ntseki remains confident in his squad\u2019s professionalism. The team, largely made up of free agents due to the start of the 2025\/26 Premier Soccer League season, faced a tough challenge during the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bafana-s-tough-challenge-in-group-c\"><strong>Bafana\u2019s Tough Challenge in Group C<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Bafana Bafana were eliminated after drawing 3-3 with Uganda in their final match. The team finished third in Group C, level on points with Algeria but knocked out due to a superior goal difference. Despite leading 3-1 with just 17 minutes left, two quick penalties awarded to Uganda reversed Bafana\u2019s fortunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-3814795792\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ntseki-stands-by-his-players\"><strong>Ntseki Stands by His Players<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After the match, Ntseki defended his players. He praised their professionalism and commitment despite the disappointing result. \u201cWe brought professionals, and they showed how professional they are,\u201d Ntseki said. \u201cThey understood they were playing for their country, and that\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-fighting-spirit-amidst-adversity\"><strong>Fighting Spirit Amidst Adversity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The timing of the tournament posed a significant challenge, with Bafana relying on free agents due to the ongoing PSL season. However, Ntseki was firm in his belief that the players gave their all. \u201cUnfortunately, we didn\u2019t get the result we wanted,\u201d he admitted. \u201cBut I can\u2019t fault the players\u2019 performance and commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the challenging final moments, Ntseki remained proud of the team. \u201cThey showed a lot of character. When things turned around, you could see their experience in handling the situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-3433944644\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pride-in-the-players-effort\"><strong>Pride in the Players&#8217; Effort<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the result was not what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.safa.net\/bafana-bafana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bafana Bafana<\/a> had hoped for, Ntseki stood by the squad\u2019s efforts. \u201cAs a coach and as a staff, we are very proud of them,\u201d he said. \u201cThey played very well in this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-next-for-bafana-bafana\"><strong>What\u2019s Next for Bafana Bafana?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking ahead, Ntseki\u2019s leadership and the professionalism shown by the team will be crucial in upcoming competitions. South Africa will focus on future challenges, including World Cup qualifiers, where the lessons from this tournament will play a key role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Check also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/mtn8-predictions-for-pirates-vs-sundowns\/\">MTN8 Semi-Final: Key Moments and Predictions Ahead of Pirates vs Sundowns Second Leg<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Bafana Bafana\u2019s exit from CHAN was disappointing, Ntseki\u2019s confidence in his players remains unwavering. Their professionalism provides hope for future success, and the team will look to build on their efforts for the next set of international challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Molefi Ntseki defends Bafana Bafana\u2019s professionalism despite early CHAN exit. Proud of the squad\u2019s commitment and looking ahead to future challenges!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":23819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Molefi Ntseki defends Bafana Bafana\u2019s professionalism despite early CHAN exit. Proud of the squad\u2019s commitment and looking ahead to future challenges!","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,56,64],"tags":[286,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-23811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"category-sports","9":"category-sports-news","10":"tag-bafana-bafana","11":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23823,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23811\/revisions\/23823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}