Hugo Broos has some tough decisions to make in the coming days. The Bafana Bafana coach has already admitted it hurts him when he has to disappoint some players.
The Belgian, after Bafana’s 3-0 victory over Zambia in a friendly played at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday, explained there were no more preparation games Bafana would play ahead of their opener at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on December 22 in Marrakesh, Morocco, against Angola.
Broos has to announce his final squad early in December as the team will be in camp in the first week of that month to start preparing for Afcon ― a tournament Broos wants to start much brighter than he did in January in Ivory Coast, where Bafana lost 2-0 to Mali then went on to take bronze.
That loss against the Malians was the last time Bafana were defeated, and they have now gone 25 matches without defeat, which makes Broos’s team one of the favourites to lift the Afcon in Morocco.
But for now Broos will not worry much about the favourites tag other than finalising his squad for Afcon. He admitted after the Zambia game, where Oswin Appollis, Mohau Nkota and Siphephelo Sithole scored the goals, that it will be a lot harder to pick his final squad than it was two years ago for Ivory Coast.
“I have been already thinking about the day I have to announce the final 23 players,” said Broos after Saturday’s match. “It will not be easy, certainly for certain positions. It will be very difficult.
“I know that what was so easy two years ago will now be very difficult because we have more than 23 players who can go to Afcon and who deserve it. Personally, it’s not such a nice thing to drop a player.”
Saturday’s game provided Broos with the last opportunity to see who to take to Afcon, and players such as Sipho Mbule, Khulumani Ndamane, Nkota and Tshepang Moremi raised their hands.
“I wanted to see what I saw today and I think those guys who played today, certainly in the second half, we can use in the future, maybe already for Afcon,” said Broos.
The only problem with Mbule was that after that there were some other things that were more important [to him] than football. I think he understands now that football is not only about playing a game.
— Hugo Broos, Bafana Bafana coach
“Like Ndamane, today he was a bit hesitant, but you saw him playing in the last game against Rwanda, he was very good. It’s not so easy to come [from the bench] in the game.”
Barring injuries or misbehaviour, a player who has certainly won Broos’s heart is Mbule, who looks set to be Bafana’s chief playmaker if Themba Zwane of Mamelodi Sundowns does not recover in time for Afcon. Mbule played two brilliant final passes for Appollis and Nkota to score their goals on Saturday.
“You know four years ago Mbule was there when I made my first call up, and immediately I saw what a good player he was,” said Broos.
“The only problem with Mbule was that after that there were some other things that were more important [to him] than football. I think he understands now that football is not only about playing a game. When the game is finished, you still have to live like a football player and I think he understands it now.
“So he’s become very important for us, and I told him, ‘It’s up to you now, you got your second chance. There’s Afcon, there’s the World Cup, it’s up to you if you want to go with us. I would like to see performances.’
“You see every time when he’s on the ball, he can be dangerous. We didn’t use him enough [on Saturday] in the first half. The other side is if tomorrow something happens [to Mbule], we’ll have a problem again, like we did when Themba Zwane got injured one year ago. We’ve found someone who can replace Themba, but I still hope that Themba will play games with Sundowns, and he will be again at the level he was before. That can make us stronger with two guys like Sipho and Themba. I hope in the next weeks, or if not for the World Cup, that we can go with Themba and Sipho, it will make us much stronger.”
But overall, Broos said Bafana were much stronger now than they were when they were surprise bronze medalists in Ivory Coast.
“We all know now that we can dominate an opponent and play good football, and we also know that if the match requires us to fight we can fight. I think those two things are very important at Afcon,” said the 73-year-old Belgian.
“There will be games that we dominate and there will be those that we have to fight a lot to win, but we can do it. That makes us stronger than two years ago when we started at Afcon.”
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