“Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was the result of all the work over the last three years.”
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was the result of all the work over the last three years.
There was a lot riding for Bafana before the match after Friday’s goalless draw against Zimbabwe in Durban put their qualifying hopes in doubt.
However, Bafana turned up and blew the Amavubi away with three unanswered goals to claim top spot in Group C ahead of Nigeria, who thrashed Benin 4-0 in the day’s other clash.
“It feels wonderful. We all knew that we could do it, we believed in ourselves and I think you saw it from the beginning of the game that we wanted to win the game,” Broos told SABC Sport.
“The only thing was what happened in Nigeria so Nigeria did what they had to do and we did what we had to do so we’re going to the World Cup fantastic.”
The balance, will-power and overall exuberance of the Bafana team stems from three years of work, identifying the right players and didn’t come together overnight.
“You know, the age doesn’t matter, it doesn’t. It’s the talent, mentality and this is something also with the young players today – they have the right mentality and have the talent and then you can make a good team and I think we did that in the last three years,” he added.
“We changed players and every time it was the right choice, so what happened today was work from three years now, I think the future looks very bright for South African football so let’s do a nice and good AFCON in December and then we go to America.”