With eye on rankings, Broos asks Bafana to please crowd with a big win

‘We are still motivated for the game and it is important for us to wrap up the qualifiers top of the group’

19 November 2024 - 11:25
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Bafana Bafana players warm up during a training session at Cape Town Stadium on Monday to prepare for Tuesday's 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Sudan.
Bafana Bafana players warm up during a training session at Cape Town Stadium on Monday to prepare for Tuesday's 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Sudan.
Image: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

If Bafana Bafana's players thought they were going to take their feet off the pedal in their final 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against South Sudan in Cape Town on Tuesday, they better think again.

Coach Hugo Broos wants them to put on a proper three-points show to end their qualification programme on top of group K, which will go a long way in boosting the national team’s rankings. 

If Bafana slip up against South Sudan in what is expected to be a packed and festive Cape Town Stadium, they may be overtaken at the top by Uganda, who are away to Congo in Brazzaville on Tuesday evening (both 6pm SA time).

Broos insisted, while Bafana have already qualified for the tournament to be held in Morocco next year, they need all the three points. 

“We want to win the game, this is not a friendly game,” he said. 

“For us this is an important game because we want to remain top of the group and we also want to show something to the crowd that is expected at the stadium. We had two amazing evenings in Bloemfontein and in Gqeberha with great crowds and nice wins so we want to do it again in Cape Town.  

“It means we are still motivated for the game and it is important for us to wrap up the qualifiers top of the group. It would be the cherry on top, as people say.” 

The Belgian has indicated he may field youngsters such as Relebohile Mofokeng and players in need of game time such as Patrick Maswanganyi, Luke  le Roux, Fawaaz Basadien, Devin Titus, Sipho Chaine and Sage Stephens against South Sudan.

Bafana are up against a team that will be depleted, with the East Africans' coach Nicolas Dupuis confirming he travelled to South Africa with only 15 players as they found the plane tickets too expensive to accommodate the whole team.  

Faced with such challenges, Dupuis said South Sudan will still put up a fight against the South Africans. 

“South Africa is now one of the top five or six best teams in Africa. South Sudan is not the same level,” the 56-year-old Frenchman said.

“We are going to play without any professional players, only local players, but my players are good, my players have good spirits and we train a lot.”

South Africa top group K with 11 points; Uganda, who have also wrapped up qualification, have 10; Congo four and South Sudan three.

South Sudan's home shock of Uganda for their first points on Thursday ensured Bafana qualified before kicking a ball in their impressive 2-0 win against Uganda in Kampala on Friday.


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