Sierra Leone boss confident of Afcon ticket
Sierra Leone jetted into OR Tambo Airport this morning, raring to go for their African Nations Cup decider against Bafana Bafana. (Photo: Sherif Suma)
The Leone Stars arrived with 15 players and a bevy of officials and proclaimed themselves in confident mood for the match at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday.
Coach Lars Olaf Mattson spoke to SuperSport.com as he waited to catch a flight to Nelspruit
What do you know about South Africa and what is your approach for Saturday’s game?
“I know a little bit about them. I’ve been watching the game they played in Freetown (last October) and I thought Sierra Leone was the better team in that game and they deserved to win there. It was a goalless draw. I know that they (SA) have 17 domestic-based players and six players from abroad and they also have some problems with injuries. I’ve got information, here and there, so I think that’s enough.”
Any South African player that you see as dangerous?
“One player that I’ve been following over the last year is Steven Pienaar but I know he is out of the game. It was very nice to see in the World Cup opener when (Siphiwe) Tshabalala scored the goal. We’ve been following South African football.
Do you think you can get a result in front of what will be a very partisan crowd?
“That will be very inspiring for us to play in front of that crowd and in a nice stadium. I think we have a fair 50-50 chance here to win the game.”
What do you think will happen with Niger and Egypt?
“I think Niger will drop points.”
Are you surprised Sierra Leone are still in contention in what has been a difficult group from the start?
“They started out with two draws and my first game was a loss in Niger. But then I could see the potential in the team. It’s a young team with strong players and I think when we faced Niger at home and won 1-0 (in June), we had a very good game. Also again Egypt in our last match (last month) we won 2-1 but we should have scored more goals. We’ve got potential in the team.”
What has the win over Egypt done for your morale and confidence as you prepare to face Bafana Bafana?
“I think it was a gift to the country first because the country had not won a football game in two years and then suddenly we won two straight games. I could see that the people were in a very good mood and the players were confident. Now we’ve arrived in this country (South Africa) and we feel like we have a chance to qualify.”
Defender Ibrahim Koroma is out of the squad and Kei Kamara arrives late from the USA. How does that affect your planning?
“The back four did very well in the last game but I think we will find a replacement for Ibrahim Korma. I haven’t made up my mind who is going to play there. I will see in the training on Thursday and Friday. Kei Kamara comes this afternoon and he’s been a very important player for us in the last two games. We needed him but he had some difficulties won the football association but all has been straightened out. So he will be here.”
Does it help that you are a Swede and many of the Sierra Leone players are based in Sweden?
“I think that was part of Sierra Leone’s strategy to find a coach from Sweden. I have got excellent control over the players over there (in Sweden) but we have players all over the world, in America and Azerbaijan. I have to follow them on the internet but I follow them every weekend.”
Supersport.com
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