New-look Bafana to face ‘difficult’ Botswana
BAFANA Bafana coach Hugo Broos says they are anticipating a tough match against Botswana this evening (6pm kickoff) after breezing past Sierra Leone on Saturday.
After the postponement of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for this international window, Bafana secured two friendlies against Sierra Leone and Botswana.
They thumped the 113th-ranked Leone Stars 4-0 at FNB Stadium, thanks to Themba Zwane’s brace and goals from Mihlali Mayambela and Aubrey Modiba.
But they’ll meet a fresher and more prepared Botswana tonight at the same venue, given that Sierra Leone had visa issues that caused their late arrival in South Africa.
“I was very pleased and satisfied with Saturday’s game. We played a good game and scored four goals,” Broos said yesterday.
“Being good is easy, that’s a fact. But staying good is more difficult. We’ll play tomorrow with a changed team – that was the initial plan for us.
“We won’t change that. We’ll try to see each and every player. That will give us an opportunity to make a good evaluation about the camp we had.
“I told the boys that they mustn’t spoil what we built on Saturday. So, it’s up to them to keep that, even though I think the game will be difficult.”
Bafana and the Zebras have formed a formidable rivalry, given the fact that a lot of Botswana players have plied their trade in the Premiership.
That number has decreased, though, but Broos is still adamant that they’ll be tough customers.
“We’ve already analysed tomorrow’s opponent, and it was our conclusion that it won’t be an easy game, compared to Saturday’s,” Broos explained.
“But that’s a good thing. After these two games, the plan is to go on with this group. Maybe we’ll change three or four players due to some eventualities.”
Broos also received good news ahead of tonight’s game after Fifa confirmed that there would be another international window in November before the World Cup in Qatar.
Before that confirmation, Bafana’s preparations for friendlies in November were in serious jeopardy, given the fact that the PSL had other arrangements.
The PSL have allocated November as the last weekend of domestic football, while players are set to be released for the World Cup a week later.
Moreover, they have set aside November 12 for the Carling Cup, where four teams will play in a oneday tournament after being voted for by the fans.*