Matthew Booth Calls for Tactical Reset as Bafana Face Must-Win Czechia Clash

Former Bafana Bafana player Matthew Booth opened up about the team’s loss to Mexico in the opening match as well as what they could change in terms of strategy for their upcoming match against Czechia on Thursday, 18 June.

MATTHEW BOOTH ON THE 5-3-2 STRATEGY: ‘IT DID NOT WORK’

Booth said he did not believe manager Hugo Broos' strategy worked for Bafana Bafana in their opening game against Mexico. The South African national team lost 2-0. 

"Their formation was a 5-3-2. Now during Hugo) Broo’s 10-year. I’ve only seen him play that system twice, myself personally. Last time they played that was when they got knocked out of the last AFCON, and it didn’t work then either," Booth spoke exclusively to Sportsboom courtesy of SuperSport. 

"I can understand from a surprise point of view why he would have attempted that. But to do it at this stage of the opening world cup, I feel was a big, big risk and it did not work. Our three centre backs got caught in positions they were not used to (Nkosinathi) Sibisi at right back, (Mbekezeli) Mbokazi at left back. Our wingbacks were pretty much not effective… and if you consider Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns that form the core of the Bafana Bafana team, if you look at how they played, they generally always play 4-3-3. Different variations of it, during the game, and we were clearly not comfortable." 

"The most important thing as to why it did not work was that Sithole and Mokoena, who played a pivotal role in that system, were pretty sluggish. So, the conditioning of the team was not correct; they did not get it right, and that affected the rest of the team as well." 

“The overall performance was quite embarrassing if I’m honest. They played such good football to qualify for this World Cup. So, to put in this performance when the global audience is watching was very, very unfortunate. There was very little I could take out of that performance to be positive about, besides Ronwen Williams’ first-half performance, which kept it at 1-0, going into halftime gave us a chance. You could tell that (Javier) Aguirre, the Mexican coach, was furious with his team in the first half for not taking their chances. It was mostly down to Williams, who kept us down to 1-0 and gave us a chance coming out of halftime. (Mbekezeli) Mbokazi was great as well. I think he was very solid.”

HOW BAFANA BAFANA CAN PREPARE FOR THE GAME AGAINST CZECHIA 

The footballer went on to express that he feels Bafana Bafana still stand a fighting chance against Czechia. 

The South African national team will play against Czechia at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on Thursday, 18 June.

“I think the coaching staff and the senior players play a vital role now in getting the team up again for the fight. When we have our backs to the wall, we always bring out our best. So that is a big positive, the fact that we cannot get any worse. I think it is important that the teams switch off their phones and don’t listen to social media. Just stick to your media obligations there and understand where it went wrong and the consequences thereof. I firmly believe we can turn it around and surprise Czechia in the next game," Booth added. 

“Czechia offers a lot of strings down there, their wings. You have to be very careful with set pieces. We saw the way they scored against South Korea from a long throw. (Tomáš) Souček, if he plays, is also very wily when it comes to entering the box very late, also good from set pieces. I think we need to return to our old system of 4-3-3 and utilise the very young, good attacking players that we used to qualify to get us here. The likes of Relebohile Mofokeng, Tshepang Moremi, and Kamogelo Sebelebele all offer so much, and I couldn’t understand why they were not utilised in the first game. Unfortunately, we took a very defensive, negative attitude, and that’s not us, that’s not the way that we play.”

“Our great attacking players, if they avoid contact against the more physical Czechia team… if they avoid contact in certain parts of the field. And avoid contact in our attacking third with our nimbleness, our quick feet and passing ability, we can cause chaos. That is going to be a very important aspect in the game against Czechia, and bear in mind, in Atlanta, we have a strong expat community. I was hoping we could get at least one point against Mexico and beat Czechia in Atlanta. I fear for South Korea.”

“It is so vitally important that we have to get three points now. The pressure is on. South Korea is a very tough work-oriented team with very good tactical players who don’t lose possession easily, and when they do, they win it back very quickly. We just have to focus on Czechia at the moment and make sure that we get three points, and it is very possible. If we utilise our very strong, young attacking options.”

“I think with the eighth-best places available, if we want to progress, we need to get at least three points from our two games. This is our best opportunity against Czechia to do that. And it would take the pressure off us slightly, going into a very difficult South Korea game back in Mexico. So, we’ve got to utilise the venue, Atlanta and make sure that we bounce back immediately, and I know that we will. I think they have taken a huge knock and they are busy regrouping, and we are going to see the best of South Africa against Czechia," he concluded.

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