South Africa coach Hugo Broos has insisted that they are looking to better their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final performance against Nigeria and claim a victory when both teams meet again in June, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Bafana Bafana lock horns with the Super Eagles on June 7 in a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifier. It will be the second time both teams will meet this year, as they already faced each other in the last AFCON. Nigeria emerged on top, as after a 1-1 draw in regulation time, they clinched the tie via penalty shootout.
This time, Nigeria will have an extra advantage, the game will be played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo. However, the Bafana Bafana cannot be underrated because they always give the Super Eagles a tough time.
Ahead of the fixture, South Africa boss Broos, revealed his roster on Thursday. And he has expressed his satisfaction with the growth of his team in recent years, accentuated by their third-place finish at the AFCON. He also believes that the Bafana Bafana can defeat Nigeria when they clashed on June 7.
“We’ve had much progress in the last two years, and the results are there, now we want more. When you’re a sportsman, you want more. So we want to go to the World Cup,” Broos told SABC.
“It will not be easy, because when you look at the group, it’s maybe not a strong group, but it’s a tricky group because we have Zimbabwe, Lesotho, all the countries around South Africa.
So, it will be not easy, and certainly with Nigeria too. But I think we have confidence and we believe in ourselves because of the performances of the AFCON. We will see in the next one year where we stand, but the mission is to go to the World Cup certainly.”
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The Super Eagles did not win their first two games of the qualifiers, and if they fail to defeat South Africa, their chances of playing at the next World Cup would be slimmer.
