Bafana coach Broos doesn’t regret playing Mothwa but may drop him against South Sudan

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has another tough decision to make in the goalkeeping department for the crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) clash against South Sudan on Tuesday. 

Bafana take on little-known South Sudan away from home in their second qualifying match looking to return to winning ways after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Uganda at Orlando Stadium on Friday. 

In the draw against the Ugandan Cranes, goalkeeper Veli Mothwa made the howler that led to the visitors taking the lead in the second half and put Bafana under tremendous pressure until they equalised in the dying minutes through Thalente Mbatha.

Broos said after the match Mothwa, who was a surprise choice in the starting line-up ahead of Ricardo Goss and Sipho Chaine, was “mentally down” because of the mistake. 

“It is not a nice thing for a goalkeeper when he makes a mistake, he knows what he did wrong and that we could have lost the game with that mistake,” said Broos. 

“He is really down in this moment and I will have to see how he is in the next days. But if you feel he is not ready to play the game on Tuesday, you can’t put him because there is a risk that he could make another mistake.

“For a goalkeeper it is important, more than an outfield player, because sometimes you do two things in the match. Today he didn't have to do too much and for the one or two things that he had to do there was a mistake and that is not a happy thing for him.” 

Broos said they will see how he is over the coming few days. 

“We will see how he is in the coming days over the weekend. You don’t know if Veli didn’t make that mistake, maybe we would have won the game. That can happen to any goalkeeper but I don’t regret that I put him in goals but now he is disappointed. 

“We have more work to bring him back a little bit mentally and we will see if it is possible.” 

Asked for his reaction on the match, Broos said the result has left him with mixed feelings. 

“I have mixed feelings, I am very happy that we got a draw but at the same time I am disappointed because we couldn't win the game. We had some chances in the first half where we could have scored more than the one we got. 

“From the beginning of the game I think it was clear that Uganda was much sharper than us in duels and that was something I was afraid of before the game. You see them [Bafana] come out of the dressing room not sharp enough and at some stage we were 2-1 down. 

“But the reaction and the changes that we made in the team helped us to come back and earn the point that we needed. It was going to be a disaster if lost the game at home. 

“The point gives us a boost and I think for a next Tuesday against South Sudan we have to review some of the things and try to have a sharper team on the pitch than today because it is not easy. 

“The game against Uganda was not simple, they were aggressive, they had players who were running and sometimes we didn't have an answer on that. I am happy with a draw and I am sure that next Tuesday we will have a better South Africa than today.”