Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Hlompho Kekana believes that the South African national team has the players that can take them ‘as far as the semi-finals’ in this year’s African Cup of Nations.

Kekana had yet another standout season with his club Sundowns as he captained them to their ninth PSL crown, while also guiding them to the semi-finals of the Caf Champions League, and he is now hoping to carry that success into the national team.

Bafana have been drawn in a tough group alongside Morocco, Ivory Coast and Namibia and while the combative midfielder is aware of the quality of their opponents in Group D, he is confident they will progress from the group.

‘Winning the Afcon will be a great achievement,’ Kekana told the Daily Sun.

‘We have players who can take us as far as the semi-finals. The first step would be to get out of the group first,’ the midfielder continued.

‘It’s about time we competed in the Afcon. The group we are in is winnable. If we can take care of Morocco, I think we will stand a better chance. They are the ones who can trouble us. Namibia are beatable.

‘It’s easy to talk, though. We can’t be naive in a tournament like this. We know our limitations, but we’ve got to look at the positives. We just have to work on one goal,’ he concluded.

The tournament kicks off in Egypt on the 21st of June and Bafana will start their campaign against the Ivory Coast in Cairo, before meeting Namibia and Morocco as they look to reach the knockout stages.

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