‘Unbelievable a World Cup qualifier is played on such a pitch’: Bafana coach Broos

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was not using the conditions as an excuse, but expressed his surprise that a World Cup qualifier could be played on a surface as poor as the synthetic pitch of Stade Huye, especially as it was waterlogged at the start.

Bafana were shocked 2-0 by 140th-ranked Rwanda, who used the conditions to their strength of route one football with strong running to earn their second win in 15 games in Tuesday’s 2026 World Cup group C qualifying game in Butare, Rwanda.

The Wasps went top of a group that has been thrown wide open by Nigeria starting with draws at home against Lesotho and away to Zimbabwe. Rwanda have four points; South Africa three, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Lesotho two and Benin one.

The winners of nine African groups reach the first 48-team World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the US.

Bafana conceded both goals (Innocent Nshuti in the 12th minute and Gilbert Mugisha in the 28th) in an opening half-hour where puddles from a prematch downpour made any form of passing game impossible.

Broos said his team’s inability to deal with Rwanda’s long ball tactics was most at fault, but again questioned the use of a synthetic pitch he said is more than 20 years old and in poor condition.

The surface played far better, and so did Bafana, as it dried, and a delayed kickoff would have seemed advisable given its early condition.

“When you see the first 20 minutes it’s unbelievable that a qualifier for a World Cup is played on such a pitch. It’s impossible. But OK, it is what it is,” Broos, who warned about the condition of the pitch before the game, said after his team’s defeat.

“Caf [the Confederation of African Football] and Fifa have to be strict in the rules on where you are going to play. You are talking about professional football, qualifiers for the biggest tournament in football, the World Cup — and then you have to play on such a pitch.

“Second, it’s not normal that when you arrive in a country you have to travel three hours by bus to your destination.

“I will not say this is the reason we lost the game. But I think those things have to change because we are in 2023 and we are talking about professional football.

“This pitch is not for professional football.”

Apart from the pitch, before the game Broos also questioned the scheduling of the qualifier by Rwanda at the tiny 10,000-seat ground in Butare, population about 75,000, a three-hour bus ride from Kigali.

After their 2-1 win against 93rd-ranked Benin in Durban on Saturday Bafana flew into Kigali at about 9.30pm on Sunday and arrived in Butare at 1.30am on Monday.