By Ameenu Shardow
Follow on Twitter @aloomeenu
South Africa midfielder Andile Jali insists the side is ready to rough shoulders with the big guns at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations following their impressive friendly win over Mali.
Bafana Bafana secured an impressive 3-0 win over Mali in their final warm up game ahead of this month’s tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
South Africa were one of the impressive teams during the qualifiers where they managed to prevent reigning champions Nigeria from making the finals.
They have even been tipped – though subtly – to win the 2015 AFCON to serve as ample proof of the strides they have made under coach Shakes Mashaba.
The 1996 champions have however been drawn in the toughest group where they will face Algeria, Senegal and Ghana in Group C which will be based ion Mongomo.
But Jali who captain Bafana Bafana in Wednesday’s friendly win over Mali feels the team is ready to prove itself against the best sides on the continent.
“After the match with Mali I can safely say we are ready for the tournament,” he said.
“The way we played today showed that we can hold our own against the big guns.
“The conditions were difficult out there but we still managed to get a great win and that augurs well for the tournament as we know what to expect.”