‘I didn’t recognise my team,’ says Hugo Broos after Bafana's win over Zimbabwe

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos left FNB Stadium on Thursday night with mixed feelings after SA narrowly beat Zimbabwe 1-0 to take a three-point lead at the top of Group G in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

The win means Bafana will travel to Ghana for their final match against the second-placed Black Stars on Sunday, with the prospect of making it to the final stage of the qualifiers in their own hands.

“I am a happy coach tonight [Thursday night] because we won. This was the most important thing for us in this match, but on the other side there is a coach who is not satisfied with the performance,” said the 69-year-old Belgian after the match.

“We played against opponents who were more aggressive than us, who won more duels than us, who had more movements in their team, and I really didn’t recognise my team.

“We were a little bit lucky and we could have lost points, but I am happy that we won the match. But, like I said earlier, I am not satisfied with the performance of the players tonight.”

Bafana went into their late kickoff knowing that Ghana dropped points in their 1-1 draw against Ethiopia at Orlando Stadium, and Broos said that result didn’t have a negative impact on his players' motivation.

“I don’t think that there was relaxation from the Bafana players, because we already knew the result of Ghana against Ethiopia. If we won our game with two or three more goals, it makes the difference for the game on Sunday.

“It is a pity that we made this kind of performance tonight and players know it. I saw in the dressing room there was no joy or no party or anything like that.

“They are happy for having won the match, but there is a big difference to what we saw in the dressing room after the win over Ghana or the win over Ethiopia recently.

“They know that this performance against Zimbabwe was not good, but I am sure they will be more ready for the important match on Sunday away from home.

“In the past we played good football in some games, where we showed the mentality, but what happened tonight doesn’t mean I have to start to doubt the team.

“I don’t have a reason why they played they way they did. I asked Percy [Tau] after the game, 'what happened?' Nobody knows it and it was not good. I am not anxious, I am sure that on Sunday there will be a better South Africa.”

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