Pitso Mosimane has expressed mixed feelings about Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos ahead of an all-important Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier on Friday evening.
South African host Liberia at the Orlando Stadium. Kick-off time is at 6pm.
Mosimane, who coaches Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia, said as much as Broos has done well in recent months, he should still be held accountable for failing to qualify for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
“I listened to a voice clip yesterday [Wednesday] and he said he is only responsible for Afcon, and nobody must blame him for the World Cup,” said Mosimane during an event on Thursday, where he was unveiled as one of the 2023 Nedbank Cup ambassadors.
“I think when you are a national [team] coach, it’s Afcon and the World Cup [that must be a priority]. Maybe he was told he was not responsible for the results of the World Cup. I don’t know why he said that.”
However, Mosimane commended the Belgian tactician for roping in young players in the national team set-up, and said he is confident Bafana has what it takes to beat Liberia.
“But anyway, I think coach Broos has done well by unveiling young players and all that, at the beginning of course, but it is a bit different now, with the likes of Themba Zwane and Percy Tau back, which is good,” he said.
“I think we will qualify for the Afcon, we only need four points. I have seen Liberia play against Morocco, I was in Morocco, so we will do well and qualify for that.”
Following the recent announcement by Fifa to revamp the 2026 World Cup edition to be hosted jointly by the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada, Mosimane believes Bafana have no excuse to not form part of the 48 teams that will take part in the tournament.
“We have no excuse not to make the next World Cup. I mean it’s nine [African] countries. So how can we miss that?”
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