Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has blamed South Africa's difficult start to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers to the lack of sharpness of his players due to the delayed start of the new season.
The 72-year-old Belgian coach mentioned the majority of his 23-man squad, around 80%, had only participated in friendly matches with their respective clubs, as the Betway Premiership campaign only kick-off this weekend.
Despite this, Bafana showed resilience in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
They resumed their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Uganda at Orlando Stadium, where Thalente Mbatha, an Orlando Pirates midfielder, salvaged the match with a last-minute equaliser.
In their following match against South Sudan in North-East Africa, Mbatha once again emerged as the hero, scoring the decisive goal during the referee’s optional time in a thrilling 3-2 victory.
Broos acknowledged the challenge posed by the lack of competitive match fitness but praised his team for securing crucial points in both encounters.
“The big trouble that we have at this moment is that our players didn’t play competitive games, 80% of the players played only preseason-friendly games,” Broos explained.
“And we saw that in both games we are not sharp enough.
“This is not the South Africa that we knew from other games. That is the first thing, and the second thing is individual mistakes always happen.
“But now in two games, we made individual mistakes, the second goal against Uganda was a mistake.
“Today the two goals of Sudan were mistakes, two defensive mistakes we made.
“So, this is something we have to do better in the next games next month (October) against Congo and I’m sure that we will because by that time my players will have played more competitive games because this weekend the competition (Premiership) starts in South Africa.
“I think that was the problem that we faced in these two games, we didn’t have enough competitive games. The was a lack of sharpness in our game.”
Bafana currently sit second in Group K of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers behind Uganda, with both teams level on points but separated by goal difference.
Their next match is scheduled for October 2024, where they will face Congo in a crucial qualification game.
Two Goals in two matches for Thalente Mbatha in Bafana Bafana colours
— SHELDON ⚽ (@Sheldon_RS17) September 10, 2024
The similarities in the two goals 🔥⚽⚽ pic.twitter.com/87cvkkXtAL
