It’s exactly three months from the biggest football event on African soil and Bafana Bafana will get the feel of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) when they lock horns against host nation Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Tuesday night. Kick-off time is at 9pm (SA time).
South Africa go into the encounter after huffing and puffing to a goalless draw against Eswatini on Friday night. Bafana coach Hugo Broos was livid after a poor performance from his players. Broos highlighted how these games were planned for and insisted that a good performance against the Ivorians would be key more than the result. “For us, the game against Ivory Coast is going to be a very good game as we will be confronted by one of the best teams in Africa.
“They are also the hosts of the Afcon, so our players will get an opportunity to play in a fully-packed stadium.
“It will be a good experience for us because in Afcon, those are the kind of crowds you will be playing against throughout the tournament.
“The goal of the two games is to prepare the team for next month [2026 World Cup qualifiers] and Afcon. So, I hope we will have a good result, and most importantly, produce a good performance,” Broos said.
Despite the Belgian facing a lot of criticism for dismantling the previous squad and integrating younger players into the system, he proved his doubters wrong by qualifying for the Afcon. Bafana put a cherry on top by winning their group ahead of 2022 World Cup semifinalists Morocco.
South Africans have heard but not seen it all from the outspoken Belgian as his biggest test is yet to come – which will get underway with the game against the Elephants before their all-important World Cup qualifiers next month.
