Bafana Bafana’s Nkosinathi Sibisi stated the team is motivated to fight for a victory as they face Zambia at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday.
Earlier in the week, head coach Hugo Broos stated that he was not viewing the game as a friendly, and wanted to see the same level of motivation, hunger and performance that he has seen in the past two years from his team.
The 30-year-old, who captained the national team in a friendly against Mozambique in June, stated that the squad are ready for battle and are hunting a win on Saturday.
“I think we totally agree with the coach. There is no such thing as a friendly game. I think as soon as you wear that jersey and you’re in that field, it’s war, but it’s a peaceful war. So, yeah, come Saturday, I think all guns will be blazing,” said Sibisi.
The Orlando Pirates captain emphasised that the squad is motivated by the opportunity to represent the nation, no matter what the occasion.
“The motivation is always the same whenever we’re at camp, whether we’re playing a friendly game or a qualifier. We’ve always trained as if it’s our last training session, because we don’t take it for granted to be here. It’s always a privilege to be here, and I think you have to earn your spot in order for you to play.”
The defender featured in Bafana Bafana’s last two FIFA World Cup qualifiers, playing a full 90 minutes after returning from an injury that derailed his start to the 2025/26 season.
With the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) looming, Sibisi stated that the team is focussed on the task at hand and not worrying about what is to come later.
“No, for us it’s just taking one game at a time. We know we have a mammoth task against Zambia at home, but we’re playing at home and we have to make it count. I think the performances have been showing throughout the period. After two or three years we’ve been with the coach, so on the weekend it won’t be any different. We can’t look ahead of ourselves and think of AFCON, we have to think about the game on Saturday.”
South Africa have not beaten Zambia in any of their three previous meetings, with their last win over Chipololo coming in 2018.
Broos and his players will be looking to break Zambia’s streak against them and prove their quality.
