Broos gets his ducks in a row before Afcon qualifiers

Hugo Broos has checked the permutations and confirmed that draws in their qualifiers against Uganda away and South Sudan in Cape Town will see Bafana Bafana through to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

The coach, in his outspoken and colourful manner, said in a scenario in which Bafana lose against Uganda in Kampala on Friday then draw against South Sudan at Cape Town Stadium on November 19, and choke on what seems an almost certain qualification, he will quit his job.

A win from either match will cause SA to qualify for the tournament in Morocco that spans December 2025 and January 2026, regardless of the other result.

“If we lose both games five minutes later I will be on the flight back to Belgium,” said the 72-year-old, who won the 2017 Nations Cup with a young Cameroon.

“If we can’t win … OK with Uganda [we can lose], but not with South Sudan. I tell you [if that happened] I would take the flight immediately and you would never see me back again.”

Uganda have 10 points in Group K, Bafana eight, Congo four and South Sudan zero after four matches.

Aware of how in the past SA have been embarrassed by situations of not knowing the permutations, Broos said that he had looked into the rules to be sure of what is needed.

The Confederation of African Football, unlike Fifa with goal difference, uses head-to-heads as its first criteria if teams are level on points, meaning the record of the sides against each other counts.

“With two draws we will qualify because in the game against Congo we won [5-0 in Gqeberha, with a 1-1 draw away], and with two draws we would be six points ahead of Congo [before their remaining two matches, so even if they won both they would draw level].

“I did look at the rules to make sure because I know a few years ago Bafana were dancing on the pitch [after a 2012 Nations Cup qualifying draw against Sierra Leone in Mbombela in 2011] and they were not qualified. And we can’t make a mistake.”

Bafana made their biggest stride escaping the malaise that gripped the national team for almost two decades with their bronze in Ivory Coast this year.

Against Nigeria in the semifinals they were within a penalty shoot-out of reaching the final. With the core of that mostly young team remaining and even more talented players emerging, SA would look to go even better in the next Afcon.

In his update on the squad’s arrivals and injuries Broos said foreign-based Siyabonga Ngezana and Luke le Roux would arrive on Tuesday “because they played yesterday”.

Mihlali Mayambela, who is out with injury, is replaced by Devin Titus from Stellenbosch.