Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has reacted to the 2026 FIFA World Cup African preliminary qualifiers draw. The draw was conducted on Thursday after the 45th CAF General Assembly in Ivory Coast.
It was conducted by football legends such as Emmanuel Eboue, Asamoah Gyan, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Emmanuel Adebayor, Wael Gomaa, and Alexandre Song.
BAFANA BAFANA 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP DRAW GROUP
Bafana Bafana are placed alongside Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Benin, Rwanda, and Lesotho in Group C.
54 African nations will compete for the available 9.5 allocated spots for Africa. The qualifiers are set to start in November 2023.
The winners of each Group will automatically qualify for the World Cup. The four best runners-up from the Groups will play in a CAF Play-Off tournament. The eventual winner of the CAF play-offs will participate in the FIFA Play-off Tournament for a spot at the biggest sporting event.
HUGO BROOS REACTS TO THE DRAW
Broos believes his charges stand a better chance of qualifying than they did two years ago.
“The away games will be very important in a group like ours,” said Broos who is currently in his native Belgium.
“But now a little bit more because we have five difficult away games for different reasons. I think it is possible for South Africa to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup first in the group,” he said.
“If you see the progress we have made in the last two years, you cannot compare those qualifiers [for the 2026 World Cup] with the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
“We are better now, we have a better team now. So okay, I am confident,” he told the SAFA Media group.
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted in Canada, Mexico and USA. The last time Bafana Bana participated in a FIFA World Cup was in 2010 as hosts. They last qualified in 2002 and have three appearances in total.
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