Head coach Hugo Broos has outlined the importance of a win against a weakened Zimbabwe side with little to play for in a World Cup qualifier.
Broos has urged his side to seal victory in Thursday’s must-win encounter with the prospect of qualification for the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup within touching distance.
Bafana play their neighbours tonight (21:00) at the FNB Stadium with the visitors arriving with a team that has been reshuffled.
Six of the players that started the reserve match in Harare two months ago will not be available in a squad that also has a new coach in Norman Mapeza who has replaced the blundering Zdravko Logarusic.
Scroll through the gallery to see the international players among Kaizer Chiefs’ ranks
“The most important thing is what we are going to do on the pitch. We must start the game well and not give them confidence. The most important thing tomorrow is a win,” emphasises Broos.
“This team (Zimbabwe) is coming to South Africa not believing that they can win and trying to win but not really believing they can win. If we give them confidence from the beginning of the game, it will make it more difficult than it is already. This is not an easy game for us. Not at all but on the other side, if we lose points, it will be our mistake.
“We know enough because we saw all the games from the qualifiers, and we saw the two games against Ghana. It is not such a different way of playing but the question is how they will play tomorrow because this is a totally different team to the one, we played in the first game of the qualifiers so we will see. But again, the most important thing is how we are going to play,” points out Broos.
The Belgian has been quick in reviving the hopes of a national team that he adopted in crisis after failing to qualify for the AFCON finals.
Bafana are now in a tussle with Ghana to decide who win the group and progresses to the play-off round which decides the five countries heading to the World Cup next year.
The Black Stars meet Ethiopia at Orlando Stadium earlier in the day in a game that will be of interest to Bafana and Broos states that their focus will be on their game against the Warriors.
“For me, it is very easy because I see the players and their mentality in how they work and behave so I’m sure that the focus will be on Zimbabwe 100%, and they will go for it till the 90th minute to have that victory. So, this is not so difficult for me to keep the focus on the players because these players are ambitious and know that if we succeed in being in Qatar this is something that can maybe happen once in the career of a football player.
“I know the players better than three months ago so I know what mentality they have and for me, it is not a problem to be sure that there will be a team that will play for victory,” says Broos
Source:Kick-off.com
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