Broos: Bafana don’t have to be afraid of any team in Africa

BAFANA Bafana coach Hugo Broos says his troops and the nation have nothing to fear going forward, after an impressive outing against Algeria.

Bafana drew 3-3 with the Desert Foxes on Tuesday night in their second game of the Fifa Series pilot project.

Bafana’s Themba Zwane scored a brace and Iqraam Rayners got the third goal as they cancelled out Yassine Benzia’s double and Yassine Brahimi’s strike. But the scoreline was not of much significance to Bafana. Instead, Broos left the Nelson Mandela Stadium a man satisfied with the performance.

Bafana matched the 2019 African kings from start to finish – so much so that they could have won the game if it wasn’t for individual mistakes.

Their display was a testament to how much the team have continued to improve after the Africa Cup of Nations, in which they finished third.

“We played against a very strong team, but I do not think there was much difference between the quality of our game and that of Algeria,” Broos said. “That means we have progressed. We have shown at the Afcon and today again. I think we don’t have to be afraid of any team in Africa any more.”

The camaraderie within the Bafana squad pleases Broos as well. That’s proven by how the non-starters cheer the players on the pitch.

Broos made a whopping 10 changes to the team that drew with minnows Andorra last week, with most of his regulars returning against Algeria.

But after Zwane and Co put on one of the best performances in Broos’ era on the pitch, the excitement was written all over the faces of the supporting players. That feeling went up a notch when Elias Mokwana came off the bench to play a starring role in Bafana’s third goal – with his shot taking a deflection off Rayners to find the back of the net.

“The team is confident, and that’s what I saw as well at Afcon. It’s a team, both on and off the pitch,” Broos said.

The coach dismissed talk that he’ll be joining the Tunisian national team.

Speaking to the players in the changeroom after the Algeria match, he said: “What you’ve heard or what you’ve read is nothing … (There’s) nothing about it. And even, why should I leave a good team as you?”