Bafana qualifier preparations serene — Broos

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is brimming with confidence about collecting at least four points in two crucial backto-back 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Liberia, starting with the first leg at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto today.

The Bafana coach described the preparation as “very serene” yesterday, adding that every one of the 23 members he selected for the two games was ready and available.

“I can tell you that the camp is going very well, preparing very hard for the games tomorrow [today] and next week on Tuesday [in Monrovia].”

“That makes me happy and very confident.

“I have to say we’re conscious that we have two difficult games to play but I feel, little by little, that the team are believing in themselves and are believing in positive results.”

Both teams are going into today’s match having lost their opening ties against Morocco, the 2022 World Cup semifinalists who have already qualified for the finals in Ivory Coast as there are only three teams in Group K.

“For me, the home game is maybe more important than the second in that we need to win,” Broos said. “We need absolutely a win here.

“If we can go to Monrovia with victory it’s already three points but what’s also very important is goal difference.

“Even if we draw in Monrovia, but we’ve four points and we’ve won here with 2-0, for example, then the goal difference is plus one for us and minus four for them.”

Bafana lost 2-1 to Morocco while Liberia lost 2-0 to the same side.

“That will make it extra difficult for them to qualify even if they were to win against Morocco,” Broos said.

“So, I think that’s something we have to keep in mind that we don’t have to take stupid risks tomorrow [today], but we should go for the second or maybe third goal.

“We saw what can happened during the World Cup qualifiers.

“If we had scored more goals against Zimbabwe we would have played the [final] play-offs.

“Now that stupid goal [a dubious penalty awarded] against Ghana in Ghana killed us.

“We must score as many goals as possible.

“It will not be easy.

“It’s a dream to win the game 3-0 but we don’t have to think about it too much.

“Just a victory is very important.”

Broos is hoping for goals from the likes of Lyle Foster, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Percy Tau, Cassius Mailula and Zakhele Lepasa.

He has a variety of choice in attack and has said all week that the look of the squad is much better than when he first coached the team in 2021.

“I think in the players that we have now we have goal scorers,” Broos said.

“They cannot all play but it’s something extra if those who play can’t score.

“You still have something extra on the bench.

“If things don’t go well from the first moment, we can always change.

“This is something we didn’t have before.

“We were looking for strikers and we didn’t find them.

“But as you see now Bongokuhle came back from America, there’s Mailula, you see Lepasa and Foster now in England.

“You have possibilities and opportunities now,” Broos said.

“For me, as a coach it’s very good and when I look at the bench I see something I didn’t have before. ”—