Bafana Bafana has successfully secured their spot in the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, much to the delight of their coach, Hugo Broos. The team’s 2-1 victory in Liberia was enough to seal second place in group K, despite the challenging conditions and hostile crowd.

The match was a tense affair, with the feeling that the hosts could still tie the game up, as they did in Soweto less than a week before. However, Mihlali Mayambela’s 53rd-minute goal proved to be the difference, earning the South Africans three valuable points.

Broos’ emotional turnaround

Zimbabwe’s disqualification from the qualifying tournament made Bafana Bafana’s job easier, and this is only the fourth time the team will feature in the bi-yearly African footballing spectacle since 2010.

Broos sees the international games as crucial for enhancing the team’s experience and readiness for the tournament. Hugo Broos also added that a powerhouse like Bafana Bafana should never miss out on playing on the African stage.

“This is a country that should be normally at Afcon and I didn’t understand why they didn’t go in the last years,” said Broos in his post-match comments to SuperSport.

“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.”

Hugo Broos was full of praises for Bafana Bafana as they dug deep to secure their spot at next year’s AFCON tournament in Cote D’Ivoire.

Watch his reaction here 👇

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 28, 2023

Despite the drama that often follows the South African National team, Broos’ emotional reaction following the team’s 2-all draw at the Orlando Stadium the previous week proved that there is hope for the side. The passionate reaction showed that the team is being guided in the right direction.

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