Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos says their next 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying match-away to Benin will be a tough one.
The 72-year-old Belgian mentor shared his sentiments after Bafana’s 2-0 triumph over Lesotho at the packed New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Limpopo’s capital, Polokwane, on Friday night.
Bafana struggled for the better part of the first half of the game, with the likes of Relebohile Mofokeng and Percy Tau squandering many scoring opportunities. Mofokeng and Jayden Adams got things right at the one-hour mark, and three minutes later, much to the delight of the supporters.
The South African team, which is on top of Group C in the continental qualification for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, faces Benin away at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Ivory Coast on Tuesday, and a win will see it open a fair gap to cement its top spot position on this six-nation mini-league log.
The South African men’s senior team is on top of the log with 10 points from five matches with its closest rivals, Benin and Rwanda, positioned second and third with 8 and 7 points respectively.
“The match against Lesotho is done and dusted, and now our focus is on our next clash against Benin. We are not expecting an easy match against them, more so because we have unseated them from the top position, which they were occupying.
“We will, however, do our best and if today’s performance is anything to go by, we can win the game,” said the confident Broos.
The winner in the group will automatically qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup with the runner-up advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Both Benin and Rwandaremain threats to Bafana Bafana in this qualification with Nigeria (4th position with 6 points) who on Friday night beat Rwanda 2-0 also having an outside chance to challenge the top spot finish.
The rest of Tuesday’s (March 25) Group C fixtures are Benin against Bafana Bafana, Nigeria versus Zimbabwe, while Rwanda take on Lesotho.
The forthcoming world cup will be held in North America, with matches in 16 cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
This will be the first time that three countries jointly host a world cup.
