PSL continues to get more praise at the AFCON through Bafana Bafana's exploits

jose-peseiro-07-feb-2024

Without a doubt, the best senior men’s national football league in Sub-Saharan Africa, and one of the best in the continent, the PSL’s star has shone brightly in this tournament.

Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro, ahead of tonight’s mouth-watering AFCON semifinal against Bafana Bafana says a successful and locally dominated South African national team squad doesn’t surprise him.

READ: Hugo Broos confirms Bafana Bafana injury blow ahead AFCON semi-final

“First I think in South Africa they have a good senior league, even the way the speak with the one I was there for, I was there for Stanley Nwabali, it’s an exceptional league,” Peseiro said.

In November, Peseiro, in search of a quality goalkeeper who would transform the Super Eagles into a strong championship-chasing unit, came to monitor Stanley Nwabali at Chippa United and was impressed with what he saw.

In the few days that he spent in Gqeberha and also watched the Premier Division’s matches Peseiro was impressed.

It’s now history that with Nwabali as the number one goalkeeper, in a star-studded Nigerian team that also has the African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen, the Peseiro team has kept four clean sheets in five matches and conceded only one goal. But it’s the dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns players in the Bafana squad that has got Peseiro talking like this, especially about the organization of Hugo Broos’ team.

“Even the national team bring nine players of the same team, Mamelodi Sundowns, that shows. If a team plays with the same players, nine players at least in the first match seven but after that nine and play together in the team for one to two years, of course they can develop them and improve their organisation. For that this team now shows very good organisation,” Peseiro added.

In the first game against Mali, Broos started with seven Sundowns players in the starting line-up, eight played in total with Morena as a substitute.

In the next four matches, he would then start with eight “Brazilian” players with Thapelo Maseko coming as a sub.

Peseiro says the cohesion in a national team between players like that coming from the same club, is difficult to break.