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Tag: Hugo Broos

  • Proud Broos in Cloud Nine over  Bafana’s W’Cup 26  qualification

    Proud Broos in Cloud Nine over  Bafana’s W’Cup 26  qualification


    Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos  said  South Africa’s qualification  for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was the result of all the work over the last three years.

    There was a lot riding for Bafana before the match after Friday’s goalless draw against Zimbabwe in Durban put their qualifying hopes in doubt.

    However, Bafana turned up and blew the Amavubi away with three unanswered goals to claim top spot in Group C ahead of Nigeria, who thrashed Benin 4-0 in the day’s other clash.

     “It feels wonderful. We all knew that we could do it, we believed in ourselves and I think you saw it from the beginning of the game that we wanted to win the game,” Broos told SABC Sport.

     “The only thing was what happened in Nigeria so Nigeria did what they had to do and we did what we had to do so we’re going to the World Cup fantastic.”

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    The balance, will-power and overall exuberance of the Bafana team stems from three years of work, identifying the right players and didn’t come together overnight.

    “You know, the age doesn’t matter, it doesn’t. It’s the talent, mentality and this is something also with the young players today – they have the right mentality and have the talent and then you can make a good team and I think we did that in the last three years,” he added.

     “We changed players and every time it was the right choice, so what happened today was work from three years now, I think the future looks very bright for South African football so let’s do a nice and good AFCON in December and then we go to America.”

  • 2026 WCQ South Africa name provisional squad  for Lesotho, Nigeria

    2026 WCQ South Africa name provisional squad  for Lesotho, Nigeria

    Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has announced his preliminary squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

    South Africa will kick off their qualifying campaign against Lesotho on Friday, September 5, before facing long-time rivals Nigeria just four days later on Tuesday, September 9.

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    The highly anticipated encounter with the Super Eagles will take place on home soil, giving Bafana Bafana a potential edge. However, before that, Broos’ men will take on Lesotho — a match set to be played at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, due to Lesotho’s lack of a CAF-approved venue.

    Several new faces were  included in the provisional squad, with players such as Darren Johnson, Bradley Cross, Zuko Mdunyelwa, Puso Dithejane, Kamogelo Sebelebele, Siphesihle Mkhize, and Gape Moralo earning call-ups as they look to impress on the  trgh

  • 2026 WCQ: South Africa won’t underrate Lesotho, says Hugo Broos

    2026 WCQ: South Africa won’t underrate Lesotho, says Hugo Broos

    South Africa will chase a key win in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign when they welcome Lesotho to the Peter Mokaba Stadium for a Group C match on Friday evening, with kick-off at 6pm CAT.

    Bafana Bafana come into the match placed second in the group – level on seven points with surprise leaders Rwanda after four completed matchdays. They were last in action in this competition in June of last year, recording a 1-1 draw away to Nigeria, followed by a 3-0 home triumph over Zimbabwe.

    Hugo Broos’s side will be confident of keeping up the momentum built in their successful Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign, which was wrapped up in November last year with back-to-back wins over Uganda (away) and South Sudan (home).

    However, the Belgian coach has warned against underestimating their opponents: “These are very important games, very tough games, because don’t underestimate Lesotho, maybe not on quality but on mentality.

    “It is a team that fights for 90 minutes for every metre and certainly when they play against South Africa, they will do one step more, I’m sure of it.”

    Lesotho, meanwhile, are in fourth place in Group C – just two points off the lead – and have notably held Nigeria away from home and beaten Zimbabwe thus far.

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    Coach Leslie Notsi sees this clash as an opportunity for his team to make a major statement: “We’re saying, ‘look, as a small footballing country, here’s an opportunity to progress, to go in there, and give it our all’. It’s an opportunity for our boys to improve, to get that international exposure, which I believe they cherish.

    “Our previous results in these qualifiers have been very encouraging. We go in there knowing that it’s not going to be easy, but we’re going to give our all.”

    In head-to-head stats, South Africa and Lesotho have met in 13 matches across all competitions (including in the local-players-only African Nations Championship) since 1995.

    Bafana have claimed seven wins compared to three for Likuena, while three games have been drawn.

    The teams last met in the COSAFA Cup in July 2021, with South Africa claiming a 4-0 win in a group stage match in Port Elizabeth – featuring a hat-trick from Victor Letsoalo.