Springboks’ passion can teach Bafana a lot, says Broos

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos wants his players to emulate the passion and will to win of their Springbok counterparts when they face Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

The performances of the two teams could not have stood in greater contrast, as Bafana not only disappointed their coach but also the nation when they drew 0-0 with Eswatini with a woefully flat performance on Friday in the first of their two friendly matches in October.

Broos’ team will look to make amends against 2023 Nations Cup hosts Ivory Coast in Abidjan’s Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny on Tuesday (9pm SA time). Bafana’s under-par display in front of a near empty FNB Stadium was more disappointing given they are using September and October’s four friendlies as preparation for November’s start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the Nations Cup finals in January and February.

The Boks put their bodies on the line on Sunday in a spectacularly committed performance to overcome hugely motivated host nation France for a 29-28 World Cup quarterfinal win in Paris.

"I’m confident that [Tuesday] will be different because they [the Bafana players] know they are playing against Ivory Coast," Broos said from Abidjan.

"They will be more focused from the beginning on the opponent and the game than they were on Friday. And I’m not agreeing with that because they are professionals and they have to do it in every game."

He said the team has "a lot to learn" from the Springboks’
passion and the way they play their game.

Broos impressed

Another lackadaisical performance by Bafana might see them being embarrassed by the Elephants, who played to a
1-1 draw against Morocco on Saturday.

Bafana had their first training session in Ivory Coast on
Sunday. Broos was impressed with the players’ reaction after their dull performance against
Eswatini. "It was more of a recovery training. We travelled on Saturday, so our players were still a bit tired, but it’s normal.

"We have worked on tactical things like how to play against Ivory Coast.

"The focus was there, and I felt in the team there’s a feeling that, ‘OK guys, what happened on Friday is in the past, but it can’t happen any more’. And that makes me happy."

Bafana, ranked 65th in the world, will have captain Ronwen Williams back in goal against 50th-ranked Ivory Coast after he missed the Eswatini game through injury.