“150% motivated” – South Africa head coach warns Super Eagles, others ahead of AFCON 2025 showdown

South Africa‘s head coach, Hugo Broos, has warned the Super Eagles of Nigeria and other African teams ahead of the AFCON 2025 tournament, Soccernet.ng reports.

Bafana Bafana were knocked out at the semi-final stage by Nigeria after a penalty shoot-out in the previous AFCON tournament.

The two teams went head-to-head in the same World Cup qualifiers group, but it was Bafana Bafana who qualified directly for the 2026 Mundial, as Nigeria's spirited fightback only saw them secure a play-offs spot.

Get Our Sports News First – Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!

South Africa: Broos fires warning to Super Eagles, others

Nigeria's hopes of playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup were dashed by DR Congo, and all they have to fight for now is the AFCON title.

Still, Broos, who won the tournament in 2017 with Cameroon, has warned other African countries that his side will stop at nothing in their quest for the gold medal in Morocco.

“The only thing we have to do is achieve the highest level, and I know these players can do that. It was the same last time, but the pressure is different now,” the 73-year-old Belgian tactician said in quotes revealed by The Star.

“It is a very tough tournament because every team is 150% motivated. For African players, this is the scene where they can show their qualities and perhaps secure a transfer to a bigger club.

“They are super motivated, and that makes them difficult to beat.

“This year, it’s a very tough tournament because the teams are outstanding. It is not like two years ago, when you could easily predict which teams wouldn’t survive the group stages.

“There are no weak teams anymore. We did very well two years ago at AFCON, and we can’t be happy if we don’t come back with the same result.

“We want to bring back home gold that’s for sure, but this is a very tough tournament.

“It is vital that we don’t lose that game [against Angola]. We saw at the last AFCON that we lost against Mali, and then we struggled in our second match.

“Let’s win against Angola and maybe play a draw against Egypt. That’s 75 to 80% that we are passing the group stages,” Broos concluded.

The Belgian recently had to issue a public apology after he made remarks with racist connotations about Mbekezeli Mbokazi's late arrival to Bafana Bafana's camp.