By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has shown his optimism of his team’s chances of securing favourable result against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
South Africa is set to face Nigeria in Uyo on Friday, followed by a home match against the Warriors of Zimbabwe at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein four days later.
Reflecting on their previous encounter, Broos recalled Bafana Bafana’s valiant effort against Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost the semi-final match 4-2 on penalties.
Broos positively stated.“Let’s go to Nigeria and Zimbabwe, qualify for the World Cup. Everybody knows that every one of us wants to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2026, but we are facing two very tough games,”
“Nigeria are AFCON finalists with players competing in top European leagues. However, we showed our potential against them at AFCON. With a bit of luck, we could have been in the final instead of Nigeria. I believe we were the better team in the semi-finals, and we could have won that match. We don’t have to be afraid.”
Broos also acknowledged the challenge posed by Zimbabwe, noting their recent changes. “The game against Zimbabwe is different. It’s a game between neighbors. After their ban, they have a new team and a new coach, which will make it a difficult game.”
Addressing criticisms from their recent match against Algeria, Broos emphasized the positives. “Some people say that we conceded three goals against Algeria, but two were due to individual mistakes. The important thing is that we delivered a good performance. That should give us confidence to achieve our goal, which is to earn at least four to six points from the next two games.”
Broos concluded, “I don’t want to lose any of those two games. I want to win one and have a draw. That would mean four or six points, keeping us in the race for World Cup qualification. That has to be our goal for the next two games.”
