Broos shuts the door on extra friendlies as Bafana fine-tune for AFCON

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has doubled down on his belief that one more friendly match is all his side needs before jetting off to next month’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Saturday’s win over Zambia in Gqeberha formed a crucial part of Bafana’s final stretch of preparations, with Broos emphasising that rhythm, conditioning and tactical sharpness — not the quantity of fixtures — will define how ready his team are when the tournament begins.

South Africa are drawn into a demanding Group B alongside Angola, whom they face in their opener on 22 December, continental heavyweights Egypt on Boxing Day, and Zimbabwe in their final group clash on 29 December.

Broos, speaking after the Zambia match, was asked whether he plans to organise additional internationals.

The 71-year-old was firm: unnecessary friendlies would only complicate a preparation phase that he believes is already on track.

“No, we will play one game,” Broos said in the post-match press conference.

“I don’t like to play two or three games before we go. We played enough games against African teams so we don’t have to play against another African team, because [like] we don’t know African football.

“We played the last four years nearly only against African teams. So we don’t have to play another two or three games before we go to AFCON — we don’t need that.”

Broos reiterated that AFCON preparation is very different from what lies ahead next year, with South Africa set to resume their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

“It will be a little bit different when we play next year World Cup. That is something else, and the preparation will be different also,” he added.

“But now we just try to have a good preparation and that the team is really at 100% when they start, and that we don’t start like we started the last AFCON with a defeat. I want to win that first game.”

Broos also stressed that this particular Bafana group is no longer in an experimental phase. The majority of the core has been together since early 2022, and the Belgian believes the value now lies in polishing their combinations rather than introducing unnecessary variables.

He said the team’s internal competitiveness — driven by settled structures, Champions League-level experience within the squad and the emergence of younger players pushing for roles — will naturally provide the intensity needed without relying on additional fixtures.

“There is very good competition in the team,” Broos explained.

“We have players who have been together for a long time now. They know each other, they know the system, the way we play. So we don’t need three more games to see that.”

The coach concluded by reiterating the importance of momentum going into Angola, insisting that Bafana must deliver a far sharper opening act than they produced in the previous edition of the tournament.

With just over a month to go, Broos is banking on continuity, clarity and a single final test — not chaos — to deliver a South African side capable of making noise in Morocco.