'Bafana must now look far beyond likes of Botswana'

In the wake of Saturday’s historic victory over Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers, Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos wants to continue playing against the best teams instead of reverting to facing the likes of “Botswana”.

Bafana managed to stun Morocco, who are ranked first in Africa by Fifa, at a half-full yet roaring FNB stadium. SA took the lead in the fifth-minute when Morocco keeper Munir Mohamedi’s clumsy error from a Percy Tau cross ended in his own net as he mishandled the ball. Zakhele Lepasa tapped in SA’s second goal just three minutes into the second-half, before Hakim Ziyech pulled one back for the North Africans on the hour mark.

Both nations went into this clash having already qualified for the upcoming Afcon in Ivory Coast early next year, hence the game was more about preparing for the finals. Broos has spelled out his intentions for Bafana to get tougher opponents to prepare for Afcon, saying they now shouldn’t face teams like Botswana. There’ll be three Fifa weeks before the Afcon.

“There’s a Fifa window in September, October and November. We will also try to have some games in January before Afcon. We now have to play against good opponents. With all due respect, we mustn’t play against Botswana, no! We need to have teams like this [referring to Morocco] now,'' Broos said.

“We know that this is another level than Botswana with all due respect. This is what we have to do in our friendly games in September and October. We need those tougher opponents to make us stronger and to be ready for Afcon.”

The Bafana coach also didn’t help it but to rub it in in the face of his critics, who have always questioned his squad selections since his arrival in the country in May 2021.

“I’ve believed in them [his players], even though some people didn’t believe in them and maybe because I made bad choices and I didn’t understand the South African culture. You don’t build a team in one day. You need time and, in that time, defeats can be very useful. We had some and they were very useful,” Broos said.