South Africa's Belgian coach Hugo Broos (C) shouts instructions to his players from the touchline during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying round Group G football match between South Africa and Ghana at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos will hope his troops keep up their excellent play in the return Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo on Tuesday. Picture: Phill Magakoe/AFP
With Bafana Bafana hysteria reaching fever pitch over the weekend following the team’s 5-0 demolishing of Congo, South Africa coach Hugo Broos has urged his troops to produce more of the same in the return fixture on Tuesday.
Bafana were at their best in their 5-0 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier victory over Congo at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, in Gqeberha, on Friday evening.
Now, Bafana head to the Congo where conditions will be completely different.
In fact, the playing surface will feature a synthetic pitch at the Alphonse Massamba-Debat Stadium in Brazzaville.
"What a keeper! He's only good keeper for this group he's also a good captain."
— GOAL South Africa (@GOALcomSA) October 13, 2024
Hugo Broos hails 'Captain Fantastic' Ronwen Williams 🤩![CDATA[]]>👏![CDATA[]]>🏾![CDATA[]]>🫡 pic.twitter.com/oAK5NTqx1A
That could present a challenge for Bafana who would want to assert their dominance early, but Broos said his side would be ready regardless of how bad the pitch may be.
“If the pitch is not good, then we’ll have to bring fighting football. And if we must do it like that, then we’ll do it like that,” said Broos.
“But if it’s good, we’ll play our usual football. I think this team (Congo) will want revenge - they lost 5-0. So, there’ll be pressure on the guys.
“We must be prepared for that and be ready for a difficult game. But if we can achieve our level, play with the same mentality, then we have a huge chance to win the game.”
Ahead of the matches against Congo, Broos called for total domination from Bafana and that’s exactly what they achieved.
“I want to see another South Africa against Congo, a South Africa that shows confidence and that dominates. I am sure if we achieve that we will also get six points,” said Broos last week.
Well, Broos is halfway to six points - and if they are to return with anything less than three points one thing is certain - the coach will not be a happy man.