Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has put his head on the block and declared that if they don’t qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco next year, he’ll resign.
Bafana have been on an upward trajectory since Broos took over the reins three-and-a-half years ago. The South Africans duly enjoyed the fruits of their labour earlier this year, as they finished third in the continental showpiece finals in Ivory Coast.
Although that feat marked their first return to the podium in more than two decades at the tournament, expectations continue to mount with every passing game. As such, they are expected to qualify for the finals next year. They’ve been decent in that regard, sitting second in Group K with eight points after four games.
The countdown is well underway.........#BafanaPride #AFCONqualifier pic.twitter.com/Prg9yWutJ1
Bafana’s only blemishes in the group were draws against Uganda and Congo-Brazzaville, while they beat the latter and South Sudan in the other two games. The South Africans’ fate will be decided in the next few days as they’ll face the table-topping Cranes away from home on Friday in Kampala, before hosting South Sudan Tuesday in Cape Town City.
And with Mihlali Mayambela, who’s been replaced by Devin Titus, the only withdrawal from his initial 23-man squad, Broos has most of his big guns at his disposal. Such is his confidence that they will perform, Broos declared yesterday that he’ll resign if they do not qualify for back-to-back Afcons.
“If we lost both games, five minutes after the game, I’ll be on a flight to Belgium. You can be sure of that,” Broos said. “Sure, maybe not against Uganda, but if we can’t win at home against South Sudan, I am telling you that I’ll take the flight, and you’ll never see me back again.”
“It would be a little shameful for us if we don’t qualify for Afcon, honestly. We have the qualities, and we are bronze medallists,” Broos explained.
“Can you imagine if the bronze medallists of nine months ago cannot even qualify for the next Afcon? I am not thinking about that! My confidence is big in this team, but we can’t accept the fact that we can’t qualify for Afcon.”
Based on the head-to-head and goal difference rules, two points could be enough for Bafana to reach the showpiece. They hold the advantage over Congo-Brazzaville, who can still match them with points, having beaten them and have a stronger goal difference than them, too.
“If we have two draws then we’ll qualify because in the game against Congo we won … if they win both their games, then we’ll have the same points,” Broos said.
“I looked at the rules recently to see if there are equal points. I know a few years ago, South Africa was dancing on the pitch, but they hadn’t qualified. So, we can’t make the same mistakes.”
Bafana can’t be erratic in Kampala either, despite facing a nation who just need a point to officially secure the spot in the finals. Hence, Broos has backed his team to put up a fight.
“When you play a qualifier against a team like Uganda, you grow every game. They didn’t lose even a single game – they played one draw against us and won all the other games,” he said.
“So, they are a team that’s full of confidence. Even though they are playing at home, they’ve (almost) qualified. So, whatever happens against us, nothing will change for them.
“So those kinds of opponents are always difficult, and they are playing at home, so there’ll be a full stadium, and people will celebrate the qualification. The atmosphere will be in favour of them.
“But again, we’ve played those difficult matches in the past also … I don’t think about those things. I know my team is strong enough and they can win in Uganda.”