South Africa coach Hugo Broos has stated that he is satisfied with their 1-1 draw against Nigeria at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Bafana Bafana have been a tough nut to crack for the Super Eagles in recent years. Both teams met in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast earlier this year, and it was a tough one. Nigeria led for most of the encounter, but South Africa scored at the death to push it to penalties. Eventually, Nigeria won the shoot-out and qualified for the final.
On Friday, Nigeria and South Africa renewed their rivalry in Uyo in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Super Eagles needed a victory to get back on track after drawing their first two games. However, they did not get it. South Africa scored in the first half, but Nigeria equalized early in the second half. Unfortunately for the Super Eagles, they failed to score and had to settle for the 1-1 draw.
After the game, South Africa boss Broos stated that he was satisfied with his team's performance as it boosted his team's chances.
“Normally, when you see the draw, you'll know that Nigeria are the biggest opponents to be first on the group,” Broos said.
“So when we came here, we hoped to have minimum of one point, not to lose. That was very important for us. The pressure was on Nigeria, they played two draws in their last two games. And you know in qualifiers, that's not really good.
“You need to win your home games first and then see that you can take some points or victory outside. For us, we are very happy with the point.”
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The Super Eagles play Benin next, and they will be looking to get their first win of the competition.
