Mystery as Congo go missing, but Bafana coach Broos not taking any chances
With less than 24 hours to kickoff for crucial Afcon qualifier, South Africa's opponents had not pitched in Gqeberha
Congo were yet to arrive in South Africa by 6pm on Thursday, but Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has strongly warned his players not to allow that to lull them into a false sense of security.
The exact details of why Congo had not touched down in Gqeberha on Thursday afternoon, where they missed their prematch training session at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, are not known.
It is also not known when Congolese will arrive for the crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier that has less than 24 hours left to start, which kicks off at 6pm on Friday.
The experienced Broos admitted Congo’s preparations are chaotic but said it would be a “big mistake” to think Bafana are therefore going get an easy win.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is not focusing on Congo's traveling challenges. pic.twitter.com/L83EaocUie
— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) October 10, 2024
“There are a lot of things happening and maybe it is a little bit chaotic but they are professional players,” said Broos in his prematch press conference at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
“Afcon is the most important thing for any African player because everybody wants to go to the tournament. It is maybe even more important than the World Cup. They [Congo] will be ready tomorrow [Friday].
“Maybe their preparation for this game is not ideal but they are professionals. From the start of the game, they will be motivated to get a good result here and because of that we are expecting a motivated Congo team.”
Broos said chaotic preparations can galvanise a side.
“When chaotic preparations have happened, during the game you are able to score one or two goals on the break. They will fight until the last second of the game to get a good result.
Behind the scenes with Bafana Bafana. pic.twitter.com/qsQORAR6yA
— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) October 10, 2024
“This means we have to be prepared for that and not focus on what happened in their camp or that they did not train or there was no press conference on Thursday. That’s not ideal but on Friday night there is a football match.
“Those guys will go to the limit to get a good result and we have to be prepared. We must not think that we are going to have a demotivated team on Friday.”
Looking at his camp, Broos said he was happier than at the beginning of the week where there were disruptions with late arrivals and players pulling out for a variety of reasons, including injuries. Young midfielder Jayden Adams was sent home for disciplinary reasons.
“The first days of our camp were a bit chaotic with injured players and those who came only on Tuesday because they played on Sunday afternoon. It was a chaotic start but after seeing training on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, I am more comfortable than at the beginning of the week.
“I saw a hungry team. We have trained very well, they prepared themselves well and that is something I like about this group. Everybody is aware that our games against Uganda and South Sudan were not our best and we were lucky to get four out of six points.
“We want to take all the six points to avoid the stress in November where you may need another victory. We had that experience three years ago with Ghana [in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers] and we must try to avoid that.
“It is easy to say but we have to take into account the opponents. There are a lot of things happening in Congo in the beginning of the week but we will make a big mistake by thinking that team will be influenced by what happened and they will be ready for the game.”
Bafana needed last-gasp goals in both matches to salvage a 2-2 home draw against Uganda and 3-2 win away against South Sudan in their first two 2025 Afcon qualifiers last month.
South Africa and Uganda lead Group K on four points and four more points for Bafana against the Congolese could conceivably see them with one foot in the next Nations Cup. The top two teams from each group qualify.
Bafana end their group campaign against Uganda away and South Sudan next month.