Cape Times

Bafana can cause Ghana problems, says coach Broos

- ESHLIN VEDAN eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za

BAFANA Bafana coach Hugo Broos has no complaints following his team’s stalemate with Zimbabwe at the Zimbabwe National Sports Stadium last week, and believes it was a “fair result”.

“They had some chances and we had some chances. It showed us that we have a lot of work to do. We started something positive, which needs time. There was improvemen­t. What I saw satisfied me. I had hoped to win, but we were satisfied with a draw,” said Broos.

Broos has been realistic and previously admitted that it will be difficult for Bafana to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Their campaign gets even more challengin­g today as they host Ghana at FNB Stadium today (6pm kickoff).

“They (Ghana) are the best team in the group. They have several players who play in Europe. It will be a tough game, but we will have possibilit­ies and we must fight them.

“If we fight them, we can cause them problems. It will be tough, but we must be confident. I hope that my team can better the performanc­e from Friday, with organisati­on defensivel­y and good attacks,” said Broos.

Bafana do not have a good recent record against Ghana, and have failed to beat them in their last five matches against the west African nation, drawing three and losing two of the games. The last time that South Africa beat

Ghana was in a 1-0 friendly internatio­nal win back in August 2010.

Ghana also enter the game in high spirits, and are on top of the group after winning their opener 1-0 against Ethiopia last Friday.

Broos believes that his team must not think about the past.

“Every game is difficult. You can’t look to the past, and if you do that, you will be lost from the beginning. It will be a new game and even though Ghana are a strong team, we will have our chances. It is up to us to take our chances,” said Broos.

Star SA player Percy Tau did not make much of an impact against Zimbabwe, and Broos insists that the Al Ahly attacker just needs time.

“The more games you play, the better you get. Percy needs games. On Friday, he was not 100%. He needs games, and the team also needs games. They are a young team and are not used to playing at that level. With more experience, they will be quicker,” said Broos.

Broos confirmed that his side have no injury issues heading into the game against Ghana.

 ?? BackpagePi­x ?? PERCY Tau struggled to make an impact against Zimbabwe on Friday. | SAMUEL SHIVAMBU
BackpagePi­x PERCY Tau struggled to make an impact against Zimbabwe on Friday. | SAMUEL SHIVAMBU

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa