Bafana coach Hugo Broos was delighted after his team secured a spot at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
Durban — Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has boldly stated that South Africa are supposed to be making appearances at every Africa Cup of Nations after sealing their spot in next year’s edition.
The South Africa national team overcame torrid conditions to beat Liberia 2-1 on Tuesday, booking their place in Ivory Coast next January.
The 70-year-old expressed his joy at his team’s victory and revealed that he had been puzzled as to why the nation had not been making consistent showings at the continental showpiece.
“This is a country that should be normally at Afcon and I didn’t understand why they didn’t go in the last years,” Broos told SuperSport TV.
“This was very important, we have a new team and a young team and the international games are very important to enhance the international experience and also going to the biggest tournament in Africa.
“We did it now and we can only progress in the next 10 months with opponents that we can learn from and be ready for Afcon.”
Broos made five changes to his starting line-up and he reaped the rewards as two of his surprise inclusions in Zakhele Lepasa and Mihlali Mayambela scoring for Bafana.
The Belgian coach revealed his thoughts behind those changes as he felt he made the right decisions in the end.
“We knew the way Liberia play is power play and not combination and I think we put the right players in the right places today and I’m really proud the way they did it,” he said
“We knew they would try to test us behind and with the aerial balls so with (Innocent) Maela, Mayambela and (Sphephelo) Sithole I think we could do something today and we did it.”
