- Xulu has been with Bafana for over a decade
- He has played with different group of players
- He ranked current crop against past squads
WHAT HAPPENED? In March, South Africa secured qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals to be hosted by Ivory Coast early next year. That was after they missed the ticket for the 2021 edition in what was one of the low moments for the national team.
Xulu has been with Bafana for over a decade now and was part of the group that failed to qualify for the 2021 Afcon finals. After the players endured some battering for failing to qualify for Cameroon 2021, Xulu feels there is still a cold attitude towards them now that they have atoned by making it to Ivory Coast.
The 31-year-old defender went on to describe the current Bafana team as “special” and hailed coach Hugo Broos.
WHAT XULU SAID: “I have been in different Bafana groups,” said Xulu as per Sowetan Live.
“This group is special because we have young players and we have a coach who has experience and everything is just clear.
“Not that I am trying to criticise the other coaches who were here before, but the fact that now I am more involved makes it easy for me to judge the experiences I have had with Bafana. I feel more important with this current group.
“We've been working so hard in the past two years and I think now we are heading in the right direction. I am just one of a few players who are part of the current team who was also involved in the team that didn’t make it to Afcon last time out [in 2021 under Molefi Ntseki]…I know how it felt and I am quite happy now that we were able to qualify.
“It is really disappointing for South Africans not to really appreciate the kind of work the coach has done in the past two years.
“As I said, I was part of the group that didn’t qualify two years ago and I remember the hammering, and now I think we did fairly well with a new team but there is no appreciation.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Bafana are preparing to host Morocco for their final 2023 Afcon qualifier at FNB Stadium. Both teams have already qualified for the Afcon finals, making Saturday's affair a dead rubber.
But it will still be a huge test for Broos and his men, who have struggled against more established sides. With Morocco bringing most of their World Cup stars, they will provide a huge challenge for South Africa.
WHAT NEXT FOR XULU? The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs defender is readying to show his leadership at the back against the highly-fancied Morocco.