The start of the new season of the Betway Premiership will ensure that the current Bafana Bafana squad will continue to improve, according to coach Hugo Broos.
The new season kicks off this weekend, almost four months after the previous one ended as local football in South Africa came to an almost total standstill with the exception of the teams involved in the MTN8 cup competition.
In their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers over the last week, Bafana drew with Uganda at Orlando Stadium before they snatched a 95th-minute winner to beat hosts South Sudan on Tuesday.
After the 3-2 win over South Sudan, Broos lamented the lack of game time of his players ahead of the crucial qualifiers.
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South Africa vs Uganda 2-2 2024 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers Match Highlights
deprem Big Zulu Veli Mothwa Chaine Duncan RIPMapaputsi RipRichHomieQuan Mofokeng Hugo broos pic.twitter.com/I7w1xI76ts
Not sharp enough
“First of all, the big trouble we have is that our players didn’t play competitive games. Only 80% played pre-season friendly games,” said Broos.
“We are not sharp enough... This is not the same South Africa we knew from other games.
“The second thing: Individual mistakes can always happen. In the two games, we made mistakes.”
Broos went on to say, two of the four goals they have conceded over the fixtures came from defensive errors.
“This is something we have to do better in the next games against Congo [in October].
“I am sure it will be, because my players would have (had) more competitive games, the (league) competition starts in South Africa this weekend.
“That was our problem. We did not have enough competitive games, so there was a lack of sharpness in our game.”