Head coach Hugo Broos detailed exactly the disastrous 20-hour journey to Uyo while hailing his side's resolute mentality after Bafana Bafana clinched an important draw against Nigeria in a Group C World Cup qualifier.
Bafana faced an arduous 20-hour journey to Nigeria, via Rwanda before reaching their final destination in Uyo.
Despite several delays, unplanned stops, late-night arrivals and difficult logistical demands Bafana Bafana impressed in an important draw away from home in their quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Speaking ahead of his side’s World Cup qualifier against neighbours Zimbabwe, Broos provided shocking details of the difficulties faced during their trip to Nigeria.
“First of all I want to go back to what happened last week, especially the travel to Nigeria. There is no one to blame from our side, let that be clear,” Broos said.
“We had all the necessary itinerary and everything was okay until Wednesday morning.
“Take-off was scheduled for 09:00 when we received a message that our flight was delayed initially for one and a half hours. After that, we got another message that the flight was delayed until 12:30.
“That means that we were already four hours behind and then we had to refuel in Rwanda.
“This was not planned at all, so that means we arrived in Nigeria after a five-hour delay. That delay then had consequences.
“We couldn’t fly any more from Port Harcourt Airport to Uyo. We had to then arrange a bus and hotel and we made it to our beds at 02:00 in the morning.”
Despite the challenging travel and many disruptions, Broos praised his side for their mentality shown to secure a valuable point.
“What makes me proud and happy is that the mentality of our team is fantastic,” Broos added.
“I think two or three years ago we would have never had a performance like we did on Friday.
“The guys showed a mentality where they wanted to win the game and they showed that from the start. It was a little bit of what happened in AFCON.
“We could have won the game but I said previously that we should be happy with four or six [points from Bafana’s two June qualifiers] which is still possible.
“But therefore we have to win tomorrow.”
Bafana host neighbours Zimbabwe at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday.
Kick-off is at 18:00.
Clip from our training yesterday; which was open to the public. So much ❤️ #BafanaPride #WCQualifiers pic.twitter.com/uBVhMyRJhR
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 10, 2024
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