Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has already set his sights on the 2025 Afcon finals. Hence, they’ll fight tooth and nail to realise those aspirations in Congo Brazzaville tomorrow night (kick-off 6pm).
Bafana hammered Congo 5-0 in the first leg of the back-to-back Afcon qualifiers at a buzzing Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Friday night.
That was a dream night for Broos’ men, but it nearly turned into a nightmare after two pitch invasion incidents nearly led to Bafana losing the game 3-0 by a walk-over. But with all having turned out well in the end, Bafana flew out of Gqeberha to Brazzaville yesterday eyeing a win which will confirm their spot in the Morocco finals.
Bafana landed in Congo amid an internal chaos, which reportedly involves the Congolese Football Federation (Fecofoot) and the sports ministry. It’s alleged that this disruption is what led Congo to arrive late on the eve of match-day in Gqeberha, while it has also halted yesterday’s meeting between Caf and Fifa in the country.
Broos is not moaning over things he can’t control though – he’s just hoping the Alphonse Massamba-Debat Stadium will have a lush, green pitch, albeit being synthetic.
After all, the Fecofoot would be returning the courtesy. Their coach Isaac N’gata marvelled at the pitch conditions of Nelson Mandela Bay, saying they were synonymous with Europeans.
“My concern is seeing the pitch there. It’s a synthetic pitch. In the past we’ve had bad experiences with synthetic pitches that were not good,” Broos said.
“I think in Rwanda – that was really bad. I never understood how you can play a World Cup qualifier on such a pitch.
“But okay, let’s look first at that. If the pitch was, for example, like the one in South Sudan, then we can’t complain. We must be able to bring good football on that.”
All the players and officials are now on board and ready for departure from Gqeberha to Congo Brazzaville. Departure from Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, Gqeberha, is at 12h00 and right on schedule.#BafanaPride pic.twitter.com/W24h9CcVUG
Such is the unpredictability of African football, Broos knows they could meet more serious conditions in Congo than in Rwanda. He is not worried, though, saying he has a trick up his sleeve.
“If the pitch is not good, then we’ll have to bring fighting football. And if we must do it like that, then we’ll do it like that,” he said.
“But if it’s good, we’ll play our usual football. I think this team (Congo) will want revenge - they lost 5-0. So, there’ll be pressure on the guys.
“We must be prepared for that and be ready for a difficult game. But if we can achieve our level, play with the same mentality, then we have a huge chance to win the game.”
Bafana’s positive mentality worked on Friday.Broos has stressed that it will be crucial to carry that momentum into the second leg as the path to Morocco is now clearer.
“It’s only three points – next Tuesday we have another game, and those five goals don’t count,” added Broos after the game in Gqeberha.
“So, we must prepare ourselves – but enjoy tonight from the fantastic victory that we have. But from tomorrow (on Saturday), we must again focus on the Tuesday game.
“We started the first step of qualifying, so Tuesday is the second. Let’s try not to spoil things, but give the same performance we gave today and come back with another victory. If we do that, then we’ll celebrate another qualification for Afcon (After the January edition in Ivory Coast).”