Bafana’s victory over Namibia a huge confidence booster, says Broos

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos believes SA ticked a few boxes with their convincing win over Namibia as the Belgian tactician shifts focus to Tunisia. 

Bafana thumped neighbours Namibia 4-0 in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo, Ivory Coast, on Sunday. Goals from Themba Zwane, who netted a brace, Percy Tau from the penalty spot and Thapelo Maseko, who scored off the bench, helped get Bafana’s campaign back on track. 

Broos’s men kicked off their campaign with a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Mali and were subjected to harsh criticism by supporters back home. 

The coach said the victory over their Cosafa rivals was the result of properly studying their opponents and his players being able to follow the technical team’s instructions to a tee. 

“We knew we had to win the game today to have some chance of going to the group stages, so we were a little nervous at the beginning,” Broos said. “But we settled more and more after we scored the first goal. 

“We played a good game [after doing] a good analysis of the opponent. We showed the players where their weaknesses were and where their strongest points were. 

“They are very dangerous with long balls, very dangerous, so we trained on [how to deal with them], and they were not so dangerous today [Sunday],” he said. 

Broos said the performance against Namibia serves as a confidence booster ahead of their final match of the group stages against Tunisia, who need a win to stand a chance of going through. 

After two outings, the Tunisians are at the bottom of group E with just a single point. They are three points behind top-of-the-table Mali and two points behind SA and the Brave Warriors of Namibia. 

Another box ticked by Bafana was being able to score as many goals as possible in case it came down to goal difference in deciding which sides proceed to the round of 16. 

“We played a very good game and got a good win, which is very important for goal difference,” Broos said. “Now we have a boost in confidence ahead of the game on Wednesday against a very strong opponent.  

“And an opponent who must win that game to remain in the tournament here in Ivory Coast. We will prepare the team very well and hope we are ready on Wednesday.” 

To qualify for the knockout stages, Bafana need to avoid defeat on Wednesday. The top two teams advance and SA also have a chance of qualifying as one of the four third-place finishers in case they lose to Tunisia and Mali beat Namibia.

“We know it is not over yet. It’s going to be a difficult one against Tunisia. We are going to analyse them properly and come with a plan. We know we definitely need to win in order to qualify,” said Zwane, who was named man of the match.

Maseko (20 years and 71 days) and Zwane (34 years and 171 days) became the youngest and oldest players to score at Afcon for Bafana.

Sunday was also only the second time Bafana scored four or more goals in a game at Afcon after their 4-1 victory over Namibia in 1998. However, Sunday’s result was SA’s biggest margin of victory in a game at this tournament.

Maseko described scoring his first Bafana goal as a “wonderful feeling”, vowing they will go all out against Tunisia. “I hope for many more goals and many more victories,” he said.

The match against Tunisia will be played at the same venue in Korhogo (7pm, SA time).