Former Bafana Bafana player and Orlando Pirates legend Benedict “Tso” Vilakazi is unflinching in his criticism that coach Hugo Broos got his starting line-up and tactics wrong in the 2-0 loss against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium last night.
Vilakazi is Pirates’ all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era, with 58 goals, and he is at the World Cup in Mexico courtesy of the South African Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
Bizarre tactical move
Broos made a bizarre tactical move when he opted for an ultra-defensive 5-3-2 formation, which resulted in some of the hottest players in the PSL, such as Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis, sitting on the bench.
The formation was structured to be highly defensive, and it backfired big time as it allowed the Mexicans, who were not threatening at all, space and time to manoeuvre. But in the end, they romped home with the three points and a big win in front of their partisan supporters to start the World Cup tournament on a high.
“I believe we are not here [Mexico] to win the World Cup. Coach Broos should have played a simple 4-3-3 with Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ime Okon, Khulisani Mudau and Aubrey Modiba as the four defenders,” a disappointed Vilakazi told Sunday World after the match.
“In the middle, he could have opted for Teboho Mokoena, Jaydin Adams and Thalente Mbatha. Upfront, he needed to play Appollis on the right, Mofokeng on the left and one striker, Iqraam Rayners. With this formation, you have five players behind the striker that are capable of scoring at any given time. Mokoena, Mofokeng, Adams, Mbatha and Appollis can score anytime – not forgetting Rayners who is a proven goalscorer.”
‘There was a hole in the middle’
“Coach Broos started with five defenders, hoping to catch Mexico on the transition with Mudau and Modiba. I am not sure why he prefers Sithole in the middle and Lyle Foster upfront, even when they are off-form. He also separated Mokoena and Adams in the midfield and made them to play on the left and right to check Mexico fullbacks because we did not have players on the wings. As a result, there was a hole in the middle that left Sithole in no-man’s land.
“After the Sithole red card, Mokoena came in the middle and plugged the gap. I feel the coach got it wrong. We still have a chance of progressing to the next round, but how? Our coach is very smart, I have been studying him for some time. He is going to say, did Mexico create chance and punish us? No. Did we make a mistake and did they punish us? Yes. So, that means the system he used is okay – and if we can eliminate the mistake from Sithole and with the second goal as well, it means we could have played a draw – then he may stay with that system, that is Hugo Broos for you,” Vilakazi added.
‘We made it easy for Mexico’
“If he wants to stick to his five defenders, then he must eliminate one midfielder and a striker – we need wingers because we cannot penetrate from the middle, especially when we do not have a Number 10. I am not saying that Mofokeng and Appollis were going to score, but can we at least make our opponents worry about us?
“We made it easy for Mexico because even when we were a goal down, the stadium was so quiet you could not tell who was leading – imagine if we played with the 4-3-3 formation, we could have destroyed them,” said Vilakazi.
Read More: Hugo Broos thinks they played a good game in the loss against Mexico
- Former Orlando Pirates legend Benedict Vilakazi sharply criticized Coach Hugo Broos for his tactical decisions following South Africa's 2-0 loss to Mexico at the World Cup.
- Broos deployed an ultra-defensive 5-3-2 formation that benched key players like Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis, which Vilakazi called "bizarre" and ineffective.
- Vilakazi suggested a more balanced 4-3-3 formation featuring attacking players like Mofokeng, Appollis, and Rayners to create more scoring opportunities and pressure on Mexico.
- He noted that the defensive setup created a gap in midfield, leaving striker Sithole isolated and leading to tactical weaknesses exploited by Mexico.
- Vilakazi lamented that South Africa made it too easy for Mexico, arguing that a more attacking formation could have changed the dynamic and potentially led to a better result.
Former Bafana Bafana player and
Vilakazi is Pirates' all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era, with 58 goals, and he is at the World Cup in Mexico courtesy of the
Broos made a bizarre tactical move when he opted for an ultra-defensive 5-3-2 formation, which resulted in some of the hottest players in the PSL, such as Relebohile
“I believe we are not here [Mexico] to win the World Cup. Coach Broos should have played a simple 4-3-3 with
“In the middle, he could have opted for Teboho Mokoena, Jaydin Adams and
“Coach Broos started with five defenders, hoping to catch Mexico on the transition with Mudau and Modiba. I am not sure why he prefers
“After the
“If he wants to stick to his five defenders, then he must eliminate one midfielder and a striker – we need wingers because we cannot penetrate from the middle, especially when we do not have a
"We made it easy for Mexico because even when we were a goal down, the stadium was so quiet you could not tell who was leading – imagine if we played with the 4-3-3 formation, we could have destroyed them," said Vilakazi.
Read More: Hugo Broos thinks they played a good game in the loss against Mexico
