Broos ready to kick-on with Bafana

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos insists South Africa’s 2022 Fifa World Cup qualification campaign was a success as he now attempts to get the team to the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast next year.

Bafana managed a credible 13 points from a possible 18 in their World Cup group stage qualifiers, but lost out on a place in the third round to Ghana by a single goal scored.

Despite this, Broos says the campaign was a positive one ad has given him plenty to build on.

“Before we talk about the new qualifiers for Afcon, I want to go back to the qualifiers of the World Cup. For me it was a success with a disappointing end because we lost the last game,” he told reporters.

“For me it was a success, we had a new and young team and from the six games we won four, drew one and lost the other one.

“We had 13 points and with a bit of research it says over the past 12 years all the qualifiers that South Africa played for Afcon you have never had 13 points.”

Broos went on to lament those who have criticised his side and says taking flak is part of the job for coaches, even if they think it is wholly unfair.

“I don’t understand why suddenly there were so many critics but I can assure you that those critics don’t affect me because it is short-sighted and cheap,” he said.

“I can assure [you] that it doesn’t affect me, it doesn’t put pressure on me, but it motivates me. It motivates me to prove all these people wrong and this is part of the job of a trainer.

“What I see happening with Pitso [Mosimane,] in Egypt, he won the Champions League twice but today they ‘killed’ him because he lost the final [with Al Ahly], and that’s life.

“I’ll go on working and I will try to qualify us for Afcon next year. I am sure we are able to do it. We are in a group of three teams with Morocco and Liberia and it is a bit different from the World Cup qualifiers.”

Bafana open their campaign in Morocco next Thursday, before crucial back-to-back qualifiers against Liberia in September that could decide their fate.