Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has expressed his disappointment over the recent wave of doubt regarding the nation’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This comes after South Africa were docked three points for fielding the suspended player, Teboho Mokoena, against Lesotho in March.
Bafana are now second in the group, level on 14 points with Benin, who hold the superior position number one due to a better goal difference.
Broos asserts that his team did not lose those three points during the match, and therefore, people should not begin doubting their potential to qualify for the World Cup.
“The most important thing is that we beat Zimbabwe, I know that in this team, there’s such a mentality that makes me confident as a coach when you have two very important games in front of you,” said Broos.
“I was a little bit disappointed the moment when the three points was deducted. Some people start to doubt that we can qualify to go to America.
“I never understood doubters because we were not beaten on the pitch, not directly. If we were beaten by Lesotho or Nigeria, maybe it’s possible [that people could then doubt us].
“But now, we played good games against Nigeria, Lesotho. Why should we start doubting now. There’s no reason to do that and I told the players that they must not doubt themselves now.
“The opponents aren’t twice better than two months before. Everything is still the same. The only thing is if we had that three points, we would qualify if we win against Zimbabwe.”
Broos says his troops will “fight like lions” against Zimbabwe, fully aware that they must emerge victorious from that crucial match.
“I feel the group knows that they are not worse than two months ago. They are the same team with same quality and fantastic mentality,” he added.
“Tomorrow [Friday] at 6 pm, we will fight like lions because we want to win that game. You can be sure of it.”
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