NEARLY THERE Bafana Bafana, under coach Hugo Broos, edge closer to their first Fifa World Cup qualification since 2002, thanks to a decisive 2-0 victory over Benin, despite massive facing pre-match challenges.. Photo: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
It may have appeared on paper that it was a foregone conclusion that South Africa would overcome Benin in their Fifa World Cup qualifier Group C match on Tuesday, but for Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos, the win came as a massive relief.
Bafana were dominant in their 2-0 win at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, but there were two massive spanners in the works for SA before the game even started.
First, it emerged that Bafana could be penalised for featuring the ineligible Teboho Mokoena in last week’s World Cup qualifier against Lesotho, which they won 2-0. However, according to a TimesLive report, the fact that the error was not reported in time to Fifa could see SA escape any penalty.
Then Bafana were not allowed to train at the stadium in Abidjan before their qualifier as Ivory Coast were hosting Gambia on Monday, when a training session at the match venue would normally take place.
Despite these hurdles, Bafana were a class above their opponents and were duly awarded two second-half goals with Lyle Foster and Jayden Adams getting on the scoresheet.
"We are not afraid anymore of who plays against us. The only thing we have to do is hard work like we have done until now,” Broos said after the match, which solidified Bafana’s position at the top of the group by five points.
“I'm not saying that everything is already done. We are in a good position now, but I think with the group that we have and if we do not do stupid things, we are very close to World Cup qualification.”
Bafana's World Cup dream: How Broos transformed South Africa's team to dominate Benin
“I think the players did what we asked of them. We knew where we could be dangerous against this team, Benin,"
"It is a good team, but we did well today keeping the ball and waiting for the right moments. In the first half, we could really do something, but in the second half, it started being easy.
“We could score the second time, and I said to the bench, my assistant, that if we score once, we will win the game. I think it was like that. We dominated the game, and I think we deserved to win.”
Looking back at his time in charge of Bafana as the side is on track to qualify for their first Fifa World Cup since 2002, Broos said: "It was not easy in South Africa in the first year; there were a lot of problems, but we went on to look for the right players for the right positions. We found them, and I think now we have a very good team.
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