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Baxter: Late arrival wasn’t Rantie’s fault

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Tokelo Rantie. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Tokelo Rantie. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

@TimspiritMolobi in Praia

After a long heart-to-heart meeting with Tokelo Rantie, Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter is happy with the striker’s explanation of his late arrival in Cape Verde.

Rantie was the last player to report for camp on Wednesday evening – meaning he would only have one training session with the team before Friday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Cape Verde.

The coach was clearly not happy with his late showing and wanted an explanation.

After the meeting Baxter cleared Rantie of any wrongdoing and said he was happy with his explanation and his commitment to the national team.

“The airline messed up his booking because he had his boarding pass and went through the gates only to be told that his flight was booked for the next day. He showed us the boarding pass and there was nothing he could do. Then there was an issue with his luggage in Lisbon – he could not get it because he didn’t have a visa – but we are happy he is here,” said Baxter.

He said if he were in Rantie’s shoes he would have been very upset by what happened but was surprised by the striker’s calmness under the circumstances.

He said he would assess Rantie at training before making a final decision on whether to start with him or not.

“The only downside is that he came here with a bit of ’flu and he is on medication now although he feels he is ready to play. We know he is one player who can cause all sorts of troubles for them and make sure they don’t attack us but we will make the call later.”

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