'Let’s see if Broos will win World Cup': Botswana coach hits back at Bafana boss's comments

Botswana national team coach Mogomotsi Mpote has hit back at Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos' comments about the Zebras.

Botswana have been the victim of perceived snides from the Bafana boss, who, after his team's 2-1 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying win against Morocco last month, said South Africa need to play against good opponents, not their neighbours.

“There’s a Fifa window in September, October and November. During the preparations in January for Afcon, we’ll try to have some games also,” Broos said.

“You must play against good opponents. With all respect, but don’t play against Botswana again. No.

“We learnt a lot of things when we won, but you know this is not the level of Botswana. This is what we must do in the friendly games in September and October.”

Mpote, who led his team to a 1-0 victory over Eswatini on the opening day of Cosafa Cup in Durban on Wednesday, has not taken Broos’ comments lightly.

The 61-year-old hit back that the Belgian has not achieved a lot of what he was hired to do by the South Africa Football Association (Safa), as he couldn’t lead Bafana to the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

“We are Batswana and Batswana are known to be peaceful people, whether he rubbishes us or does whatever, let him talk,” Mpote said after the game at King Zwelithini Stadium.

“I think South Africa employed him to take this team to the World Cup, he failed, didn't he? To qualify and win the Afcon, isn’t it?

“We will always respect South Africa as a country and Bafana Bafana as a national team. We will always respect that [but] let’s see if he [Broos] will win Afcon, if he will win the World Cup.

“Let’s wait and see. For us we don’t have a problem with talking like that to Batswana because Batswana and South Africans are sisters and brothers.”

While Broos, 71, is yet to enjoy major success with Bafana, he did lead a youthful Cameroon to the 2017 Afcon title. Bafana have qualified for the next Nations Cup in Ivory Coast in January and February.

Broos is not a stranger to controversy and is known to speak his mind.

Banyana Banyana star player Jermaine Seoposenwe also recently said playing against Botswana's women national side was not an ideal preparation for the World Cup and they would have preferred a stronger opponent.

The choice of 150th-ranked Botswana as a send-off match — when Banyana are set to play third-ranked Sweden and top 30-ranked Italy and Argentina in group G at the World Cup — was part of the reason for a dispute between the team and Safa that led to the national side not playing the match.

Botswana won the fixture by 5-0 against a hurriedly-assembled makeshift Banyana team. 

Botswana's men's side face Bafana in their next Cosafa Cup match at King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi, south of Durban, on Saturday. 

Interim coach Morena Ramoreboli's greatly understrength Bafana will be desperate for a victory after their 1-1 opening draw with Namibia on Wednesday night.

Botswana top group A after the first round of matches.

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