Following the momentous victory over Morocco in the last-16 round fixture in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday night, South Africa’s coach Hugo Broos has revealed how the win was planned.
Bafana Bafana smashed tournament favourites Morocco 2-0 at the Stade de San Pédro in Ivory Coast. The result meant an early departure from what is proving to be an exciting tournament for Africa’s number-one-ranked country in football.
Two second-half goals from striker Evidence Makgopa and midfield workhorse Teboho Mokoena were enough to send Bafana to the quarterfinals, where they will lock horns with Cape Verde on Saturday.
Speaking to the media post-match on Tuesday night, Broos said the previous between the two countries influenced his tactical approach. SA beat the Atlas Lions 2-1 during an Afcon qualifier played on June 17 2023 in Johannesburg.
The winning coach has the best tactic
“The coach who wins the game always has the best tactic; it’s always like that,” Broos said.
“If Morocco had scored with the chances they had, then [we would have] lost the game, then you ask me, ‘coach, why are you playing like that?’.
“But we did a very good analysis of Morocco. It’s not the first time we played against them; we know that their team hasn’t changed so much.
“They have good players, so we knew how we should play. Again, I think this was the right tactic. That team is a really good team.
“There were certain moments in the game that we needed a bit of luck in the second half. They missed a penalty, they had good chances; then you win the game,” he added.
Victory over In short, Broos won the game of wits against his Morocco counterpart, Walid Regragui. Regragui, who was in charge of the Morocco side in the June fixture, predicted great things for Bafana after his team’s loss.
Makgopa impact
Meanwhile, Broos also praised the impact Makgopa has had, adding that the Limpopo-born striker has justified his reason for selecting him.
“Today, we saw a fantastic free kick from Teboho [Mokoena] and a nice goal from Makgopa,” Broos said.
“Those who doubted him (Makgopa) when he was with us… I always believed in Makgopa, always.
“When you work with this guy you will realise that you have a good striker, believe me. And he proved it today; he works hard, and he scored a fantastic goal.”
The win against Morocco now takes Broos’ tally to 14 wins, eight draws and five defeats after 27 matches in charge of the SA national team.
It also improves Bafana’s head-to-head against Morocco to four wins and three draws after 10 matches.
