Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained what he thinks his side must do to reach the AFCON final in the ongoing edition in Morocco.
South Africa opened their campaign with a hard-fought 2–1 win over Angola on Monday evening.
Bafana Bafana took an early lead through Oswin Appollis, but Angola responded with an equaliser from Manuel Show, applying heavy pressure on the hosts, particularly in the first half. Lyle Foster, however, sealed the victory late in the match.
Despite the win, coach Hugo Broos expressed his dissatisfaction with Bafana’s first-half display after taking the lead. The Belgian tactician, though, praised his side’s improved performance after the break.
Asked what could take his team to the final, the Belgian tactician said maintaining the level shown in the second half against Angola would be key.
“I think we have to play like our second half [against Angola],” said Broos in the post-match press conference.
“In the first half, we felt asleep and this was not a South Africa that I’m used to seeing.
“There was no depth in the game, we lost the ball in the feet, and we gave opportunities to opponents to put pressure on us.
“Maybe it was good that it happened because it was a good wake-up call in the first half. I don’t think it will happen again in the next games.
“For us, the most important thing is to survive those group stages and go to the next round. And then we will see, this is a tough tournament, and we need sometimes a little bit lucky also.
“I’m confident because I saw the second half that I wanted to see, it was better football. But again, the passion and aggression was in our game and that makes me happy.”
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