Having watched the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is aware of the huge task that lies ahead for the
senior national team.
South Africa did not qualify and could only watch the month-long African football spectacle on television. Bafana faltered in the last match of the qualifiers against Sudan under then-coach Molefi Ntseki, who was subsequently relieved of his duties.
South Africa also failed to make it to this year’s Fifa World Cup finals in Qatar after bombing out in heartbreaking fashion when they controversially lost 1-0 to Ghana in the final match of the qualifiers.
“We have a very young team and lots of space to progress. I have confidence in the boys,” Broos told Sunday World.
“I said it the first time when I arrived in South Africa that qualifying for the World Cup was going to be very difficult. I also made it clear that we have to qualify and be in Ivory Coast for the 2023 Afcon tournament. There is no excuse anymore, we have to be good enough and take the team there.
“We have to improve and fight with more bravery. But we gave the World Cup qualifiers our best shot and we came very close to getting to the play-offs. We had a good campaign and lost out unfairly to Ghana. Nobody expected us to go toe to toe with the powerful Ghana but the boys fought very hard,” said the 69-year-old Belgian.
“The standards at Afcon have improved. If you look at the teams that played in the quarterfinals and the semifinals, they were powerful nations. They have the advantage that their players are playing for the big clubs in Europe and those teams are very competitive.
“You saw the semifinals were tough as well. We need to qualify and play in these competitions because that’s the only way European clubs will be interested in our players. At the moment, the sad truth is that big clubs in the world do not know SA players… We cannot show the world and advertise our players if we are not playing at the Afcon or World Cup.
“I do not see any reason why we cannot be at the next Afcon. It was the same when I coached Cameroon in 2017 – no one gave us a chance and we won the tournament… We are just waiting for the Afcon draw and to find out who will be our opponents so that we can plan accordingly.
“I am also happy that we will be playing a big friendly international against France.”
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