Smiso Msomi
The November 14, 2021, is a date that lives long in the dark memories of South African football fans and apparently Bafana Bafana as well.
Ghana captain Jordan Ayew stepping up to convert one of the worst penalties awarded in football, is a sight that still hits with impact whenever the national team jets off into foreign territory.
Bafana coach Hugo Broos, a first-hand observer on the day, remains in disbelief to this day as the Black Stars booted out his side and proceeded into the final stage of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Mbatha, Adams withdrawn from Bafana Bafana squad#BafanaPride#AfconQualifier https://t.co/EK73f5veES
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) October 7, 2024
Three years later, Broos is pressed with the task of guiding his team to another major competition with the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on the agenda. Following their successful trip to Ivory Coast in January, Bafana are looking to return to the continental showpiece set to be staged in Morocco in December 2025.
Leading up to their next two matches in qualifying, Broos has expressed his desire to ensure that his team leave nothing to chance on the final set of matches with an opportunity for six points up for grabs against Congo-Brazzaville.
Bafana will host the Red Devils at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday at 7pm before jetting off to West Africa for a second clash in five days on Tuesday next week.
“We have to prepare the team very well so that we can collect six out of six points, I want to avoid the stressing month of November,” said Broos, in the pre-match press conference in Gqebera.
He further added: “If you have six out of six points, you qualify and if we don’t, then maybe the two games against (South) Sudan and Uganda can be tricky.”
“Remember three years ago in Ghana, we would’ve had enough to qualify with one point but we lost so let’s avoid that situation when we have to go to Uganda not to lose because this is a very tricky situation.”
Bafana are in second spot of Group K going into these two matches and level on points with first-placed Uganda. Following their draw against The Cranes at home and a dramatic win over South Sudan away, Broos and his men have placed themselves in a decent position to qualify.
The 2017 AFCON winner has ushered Bafana into a whole new era of positivity and growth in recent years, culminating in a third-place finish in the last AFCON edition.
The experienced mentor has called for calm and he detailed that Bafana's recent slight ‘dip’ in form is not an extraordinary feature of a side that has been on an upward trajectory for years.
“This is normal in the way that in the last two years, we played good, got the results and qualified for AFCON and got the bronze medal and then the games against Algeria, Nigeria and Zimbabwe so everything was okay,” he said
“So it’s a bit normal that we have a little decompression but we have to ensure that the decompression doesn’t become a problem and I will speak to the players because I want to see a different South Africa.”