Football
Nick Said, Special to ESPN 6y

Bafana Bafana: What did we learn from the Four Nations?

South Africa beat Zambia 2-0 to win the Four Nations trophy on Saturday, ending a satisfactory few days in Ndola as coach Stuart Baxter's hurriedly assembled squad were put through their paces.

There were 14 changes from the squad that did duty in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers last November, but what exactly did we learn from the draw against Angola and the victory over Zambia?

OUT WITH THE OLD ...

Baxter made it clear when he announced his squad that now was the time to 'refresh' the Bafana Bafana team, and that he was ready to cut loose older players in order to blood youngsters.

He hinted this may bring about a period of instability in the team, but with the focus now very much on Qatar 2022 (the team will qualify for the expanded 2019 African Nations Cup), he needs players who will be in their prime in four years' time.

It means the end of the road for the likes of Siphiwe Tshabalala and Teko Modise, the latter having not played an international in seven years, but there have been growing calls for his inclusion after an excellent campaign with Cape Town City.

Baxter's path is the right one and there are enough very promising youngsters out there who could become the backbone of the national side in the next four years.

MOTHIBA IS THE REAL DEAL

Lille striker Lebo Mothiba was handed his debut against Angola and duly scored, following that up with another goal off the bench in the final against Zambia.

Both were well-taken efforts that showed he can be a clinical finisher, something that has been missing in the national team for some time.

Bafana have relied almost exclusively on the goals of Percy Tau in the last year, and while he remains a key asset to the team, they need to find other outlets.

Mothiba has learnt much during his time in France and at the age of 22, will likely only get better the more he plays in Ligue 1.

BAXTER NEEDS TO FIND A SETTLED CENTRE-BACK PAIRING

The centre-back pairing in the national side has been a problem for some time, with a lot of chopping and changing leading to instability.

This has in part been due to injuries and, on occasion, suspensions, but Baxter needs to settle that vital part of team down and select four players he wants to move forward with and rotate those.

He selected the Wits duo of Buhle Mkhwanazi and Thulani Hlatshwayo for the Zambia trip, but then did not play them together, pairing Motjeka Madisha with the former in the first game and Daniel Cardoso with the latter in the second.

However, going forward he would do well to play them as a unit, given that they train and play each week together at club level and are arguably the best pairing in the domestic league when on top.

It remains to be seen what role Mkhwanazi will be able to play, having struggled with injuries in recent years.

KHUNE IS GETTING BETTER WITH AGE

Is Itumeleng Khune hitting his peak as a goalkeeper?

They say that glovemen really mature in their early 30s and the Kaizer Chiefs star has just entered that decade.

Certainly his form suggests he is peaking; Khune has been imperious for Chiefs this season and showed again against Zambia what a quality player he is.

He made a number of top stops, but also marshals the defence well and is a steadying influence at the back.

His importance to the national side cannot be underestimated.

SOUTH AFRICA'S DAYS OF HIGH-PROFILE FRIENDLIES ARE MOSTLY GONE

Baxter made it clear that he would rather have gone the King's Cup in Thailand than play in Zambia, possibly because he would have got an extra match in.

However, the days of South Africa hosting, or even travelling to play major world nations in friendlies are gone it seems, unless they can qualify for a World Cup and then become an attractive warm-up opponent.

SAFA did not even try to arrange high-profile friendlies this time round, showing the level of ambition among the management, and going forward it will be much harder.

That is because European teams will later this year start the UEFA Nations League, a competition set for FIFA international dates to try and spice up meaningless friendlies.

European teams will then set fixtures among themselves to earn points, rather than taking on African, Asian or South American opposition.

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