Bafana's Broos unfazed by quick AFCON turnaround ahead of must-win Zimbabwe clash

The quick turnaround of matches at AFCON in Morocco is not ideal for Bafana Bafana ahead of their crucial final group-stage match against rivals Zimbabwe on Monday night (6pm kick-off), but coach Hugo Broos is not sulking or moaning about it.

Bafana will face the Warriors at Stade de Marrakech in the final Group B clash, needing a result to be certain of securing a place in the knockout stage.

This pressured situation comes on the back of the team’s 1–0 loss to Egypt at Stade Adrar on Friday, courtesy of Mohamed Salah’s penalty — a result that divided the football fraternity, with pundits split on whether South Africa lost on merit or were robbed.

The debate stems from referee Pacifique Ndabihawenimana awarding the Pharaohs a penalty after consulting VAR and the pitchside monitor for a foul on Salah inside the box. However, when the ball later struck the arm of Yasser Mahmoud, the Burundian-born official followed the same review process but waved play on.

On paper, Ndabihawenimana appeared correct, as the IFAB “supporting arm” handball rule states that a player’s arm used naturally for balance while falling or sliding is “not a handball if the ball hits it when it is between the body and the ground for support.”

Broos, like many supporters back home, believed Bafana should have been awarded a penalty later in the game, while the first penalty conceded was soft. The silver-haired Belgian was clearly frustrated by the refereeing but stressed that the experience would serve as fuel against a spirited Zimbabwe side that is still in contention to qualify from the group.

“There are only two days to prepare, so we don’t have much time,” Broos acknowledged. “The first thing you have to do is not think about today’s game; it’s finished, and you can’t change anything. From tomorrow we have to focus on what will happen on Monday. We know that we have the qualities to beat Zimbabwe.

“Zimbabwe have one point, and they’ll be thinking the same thing. It’s always a difficult game for us. We are a confident team; just because we lost doesn’t mean the confidence is gone. We’ll be ready on Monday, I can assure you.

"We will try to win the game, and if we do, we’ll be in the second round. Then we’ll see what happens. It’s very short, but we’ll manage it.”

While Bafana may have fallen short against Egypt, who are chasing a record eighth AFCON title, Broos believes the result was not due to a lack of effort, particularly given the team’s organisation in the second half.

“When the other team plays with 10 men, you start to think that everything is possible,” Broos said.

“We tried several things in the second half. We brought Sipho Mbule on because we wanted someone to link the midfielders and attackers. We thought that would make a difference, but there was not much space.

"We tried playing with two centre-forwards, Evidence Makgopa and Lyle Foster, and we had chances. It’s not that we didn’t try. But when you play against 10 men, they are compact and very close to each other.”

With Bafana having gone toe-to-toe with Egypt, Broos said, “We are super confident that we’ll beat Zimbabwe,” but also stressed another crucial factor they will need.

“You also need a bit of luck; that the ball falls kindly or finds its way through defenders,” Broos said. “But that didn’t happen today. That was a pity. Again, we should have got a penalty and equalised. Then it would have been a different situation.”