There was some fighting talk from coach Hugo Broos on the eve of Bafana Bafana’s final Group K Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) clash against the East African minnows South Sudan in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Even though Bafana has already secured the 2025 Afcon qualification, Broos has refused to be lulled into a false sense of security because he desperately wants to win the match, which some regard as a dead rubber.
Bafana Bafana final training before the showdown against South Sudan tomorrow....#BafanaPride #AfconQualifier pic.twitter.com/8f2lBNc4DD
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) November 18, 2024
“I am happy that we won the qualifier against Uganda last Friday but still not satisfied because we want to win the game tomorrow (Tuesday),” said Broos.
“This is not a friendly game. For us, it is an important game because we want to finish first in K Group.”
The world rankings of Bafana (60) and South Sudan (172) suggest the South Africans who are making a rare appearance in Cape Town, are in for a walk in the park. “Not so,” said Broos, adding he won’t make the mistake of under-estimating the lowly East Africans.
Another factor influencing Broos’ thinking is that the team needs to produce an excellent performance to justify the crowd support. Broos has been told that Cape Town fans will be pitching in their numbers at the 2010 World Cup venue.
The day is almost here.........#BafanaPride#AfconQualifier@10bet_ZA @CastleLagerSA @pefmo_za @SAFA_net @flysaa @SouthernSunGrphttps://t.co/t7WC0jIDTm
“We had two amazing evenings in Bloemfontein (winning 3-1 against Zimbabwe) and PE (winning 5-0 against Zimbabwe,” said Broos.
“The crowd in the stadium was so nice to help win and we will do that again tomorrow here in Cape Town. It means we are still motivated for tomorrow's game. It is important to finish these qualifiers and end first in the group.”
Broos underlined his fighting talk by refusing to share his thoughts on the team selection for South Sudan’s Bright Stars.
“First of all, I want to keep all my players motivated for tomorrow. Secondly, I will not give information to my opponent. You will have to wait till tomorrow at 6pm,” said Broos.
“I don't like taking this game as a friendly. You know when you do that, you start changing everything. I might change the way players. I don't want this.
“What I said in the beginning. I mean it. We want to finish first in our group and will put our best team on the pitch.”
🚨MATCH DAY🚨
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) November 19, 2024
2025 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier
⚽️ South Africa 🇿🇦 vs 🇸🇸 South Sudan
🗓 19 November 2024
⏰️ 18h00
🏟 DHL Cape Town Stadium
📺 SABC 3#AfconQualifier#BafanaPride pic.twitter.com/0Gqr7aX1qJ
In head-to-head stats, South Africa and South Sudan have met once previously. Bafana Bafana beat the Bright Stars 3-2 in Juba, in September, in an Afcon qualifier.
Bafana Bafana winger Oswin Appollis scored a brace in between goals from South Sudan’s Tito Okello and Valentino Yeul before Bafana Bafana substitute Thalente Mbatha netted a winner deep in injury time.
Most Bafana starting line-ups in the past two seasons are made up mostly of Mamelodi Sundowns players. On Saturday Sundowns play Magesi FC in the Carling Knockout final. It seems someone must have raised the matter of releasing Sundowns players because Bafana Bafana had already secured their Afcon ticket.
Without much prompting, Broos declared that Sundowns players would remain Bafana players until the game against South Sudan ended.