“It’s not the most difficult group but we have Tunisia and Mali, two good opponents. Teams that are almost always at the Afcon and they have done well, especially Tunisia, at the World Cup,” Broos said.
The coach expects all the opponents to be competitive, mentioning that Mali would have a slight home advantage being neighbours to the host country, while Namibia have shown improvements recently.
“Mali is playing some kind of home game (in Ivory Coast) which is closer to the border of Mali, so yes, they will be very motivated. It will not be easy,” Broos said.
“And you have Namibia, who maybe are the team that nobody expects (to go through from the group), but we played against them a few months ago and they are well organised.
“It will be tough but there are some possibilities and if we can reach our best level then we have a chance to go through the group stages.”
Before departing for Ivory Coast, Bafana will test themselves for the last time at home against Lesotho in a match that will be played behind closed doors at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville on Thursday, January 11.
Bafana not in toughest Afcon group but still have to toil to reach round of 16: Hugo Broos
Image: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images
Bafana Bafana were not drawn in the toughest group in the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) but will still need to tap into their best level to make the next round of the competition.
Bafana are in group E with Tunisia, Mali and neighbours Namibia in the tournament that gets under way in Ivory Coast on Saturday.
South Africa will kick off their campaign against Mali at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo on Tuesday, January 16 (10pm SA time).
A top two finish in the group will guarantee coach Hugo Broos and his men a place in the next round while there’s also a chance to proceed as one of the four best third-placed teams from all the pools.
Speaking from Stellenbosch, where Bafana are fine-tuning their preparations, Broos said it will not be easy but he remains confident of them making the round of 16.
“It’s not the most difficult group but we have Tunisia and Mali, two good opponents. Teams that are almost always at the Afcon and they have done well, especially Tunisia, at the World Cup,” Broos said.
The coach expects all the opponents to be competitive, mentioning that Mali would have a slight home advantage being neighbours to the host country, while Namibia have shown improvements recently.
“Mali is playing some kind of home game (in Ivory Coast) which is closer to the border of Mali, so yes, they will be very motivated. It will not be easy,” Broos said.
“And you have Namibia, who maybe are the team that nobody expects (to go through from the group), but we played against them a few months ago and they are well organised.
“It will be tough but there are some possibilities and if we can reach our best level then we have a chance to go through the group stages.”
Before departing for Ivory Coast, Bafana will test themselves for the last time at home against Lesotho in a match that will be played behind closed doors at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville on Thursday, January 11.
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