Broos believes as Bafana’s 2026 World Cup dream almost touchable

The key to Bafana Bafana qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup is to treat all the remaining qualifiers against Lesotho, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Rwanda the same, Bafana coach Hugo Broos posits.

Bafana could find themselves in an unassailable position in Group C if they win their next two matches against Lesotho and Nigeria in the Free State, where victories would see their points tally shoot to 19 with two matches remaining.

There is just the cloud of the three points that might still be docked — opposition coaches and federations are questioning Fifa's silence on the matter — for the bungle of fielding Teboho Mokoena when he should have been suspended hangs over the quest. Even that could diminish as a threat with wins in the next seven days.

Nine African teams are guaranteed a spot at next year's World Cup in Mexico, US and Canada, which for the first time will feature 48 nations.

The maximum points second-placed Rwanda and Benin can reach is 20, but as they have two matches in this September international week, they may lose some ground if they don't win both.

WATCH | Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says injuries have made the current camp the most difficult one since he took charge of the team in 2021.

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Rwanda will be away to Nigeria on Saturday before playing Zimbabwe in Orlando on Tuesday. Benin host Zimbabwe on Friday before welcoming Lesotho on Tuesday, with both matches taking place in Ivory Coast as they, like Lesotho and Zimbabwe, don't have Fifa-approved stadiums.

Group heavyweights the Super Eagles are in a tight spot after winning just one, drawing four and losing one of their six matches in a disastrous campaign, the rescuing of which probably depends on beating Bafana in Bloemfontein, though only after negotiating Rwanda first. Nigeria can only reach 19 points if they win all their remaining four matches.

Broos remains confident of Bafana qualifying even if Fifa docks three points. As things stand, if Bafana win all their four remaining matches, they can reach a maximum 25 points, though such an outcome is far from guaranteed. The Bafana coach emphasised the importance of Bafana avoiding looking too far ahead and taking some matches for granted.

“The biggest mistake we can make is to underestimate Lesotho,” Broos said. “OK, Lesotho doesn't have a name as a big team but underestimating them could be a dangerous thing to do.

“Lesotho played to a draw in Nigeria. OK, we beat them in March, but we have to do it again. If we're not at our best level it will be a very, very difficult game.

“Everybody knows Nigeria, but this will be a team we have to beat because everybody expected that Nigeria should be first, but they started very badly. They can still qualify. Maybe they don't think so much any more about the first place, but second place [to have a chance at being one of four best runners-up in the nine groups to go to a playoff] remains possible.

“We have to be confident with the game against Nigeria. We were there [in Nigeria] and we played to a draw [1-1] and in the Afcon [semifinal, in Ivory Coast last year] we could have won against them because we played a very good game [losing on penalties]. We don't have to be afraid.”

Broos said it's clear to him what Bafana should be looking for in these two qualifiers.

“The first and foremost is to beat Lesotho, and then we'll see. Nigeria still has to play Rwanda and Zimbabwe and those will not be easy games for them. It can even be better for us if they draw some of those matches. Maybe for us a draw against Nigeria will be enough.

“Maybe with that draw we'll be close to qualifying already if things are really good for us. Again, let's be confident and play the way we've played in the previous qualifiers. Why should we start now doubting ourselves? We just need to continue playing our game and I'm sure we'll get the results we want.”