Broos targeting a flying start
|Published
Smiso Msomi
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has placed a huge emphasis on his side flying out of the blocks as they bid to qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations.
Next year’s Afcon will be held in Morocco and Broos and his team are seeking to ride their previous tournament energy as they kick off their qualifying campaign.
Bafana will battle Uganda at home at Orlando Stadium on Friday (kick-off 6pm) before they jet off to South Sudan to play their second match in the group on Tuesday. The South African national team has had a very positive past 12 months in terms of performance as well as achievements.
Bafana Bafana training at Dobsonville Stadium today ahead of the AFCON qualifier against Uganda at Orlando Stadium on Friday, 6 September. pic.twitter.com/yeuAYZpLwH
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 2, 2024
Their third-place finish in the last Afcon came as a huge surprise to many, and Broos looks set to build on the recent success.
He also wants to use that buoyant energy to get off to a good start to their Afcon qualifying campaign.
“When we go back to the last eight months of this year, at the beginning of the year I think we can be very happy with the results of Bafana Bafana,” he said.
“We had a very good Afcon and came back with a bronze medal. After that, a friendly game against Algeria (3-3) was very good and then the games against Zimbabwe (3-1) and Nigeria (1-1) in the World Cup qualifiers, also we had very good results.
Come Show Your Love ❤️ for Bafana Bafana 🇿🇦as they host Uganda 🇺🇬 on Friday, 6 September 2024 at Orlando Stadium. Tickets are available at Ticketpro@SAFA_net @10betSports @CastleLagerSA pic.twitter.com/fNhK0NaE5o
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 2, 2024
“So that means, yeah, we are confident and we believe in ourselves to start those qualifiers for Afcon 2025. I think it’s very important that when you play qualifiers you have a good start.
“When you have a good start, you put pressure on your opponents. When you don’t, it’s just the opposite. We have to try to avoid that.”
With domestic action partially halted until September 14 due to the late commencement of the Betway Premiership, Broos has had a tricky selection process. The Belgium-born mentor has had to focus on the MTN8 and the teams participating in the semi-finals in particular.
This has provided room for the likes of Stellenbosch’s Fawaaz Basadien, as well as Thalente Mbatha from Orlando Pirates to receive opportunities to be a part of the final 23-man squad.
Bafana will be without captain and first-choice goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who is still nursing an injury and hasn’t kicked a ball this season. Broos has called up Veli Mothwa (AmaZulu), Ricardo Goss (SuperSport United) as well as Pirates’ Sipho Chaine, who is the most in-form and most active of the three.
All eyes will be on the experienced coach as he has huge calls to make not only with his starting goalkeeper but also who he hands the captaincy to.
With vice-captain Percy Tau also dropped for the two matches, the most experienced man in the squad is Mamelodi Sundowns’ Themba Zwane, 35, who hasn’t made the best start to the new campaign.