Swallows legend Tsutsulupa pinpoints areas of improvement for Bafana under Broos
Former Moroka Swallows midfielder Lefa Tsutsulupa has pinpointed areas where Bafana Bafana has shown improvement under the guidance of Hugo Broos.
The Belgian; Broos tactician took over the SA reins in May 2021, succeeding former Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki at the time.
Seven months at the helm, Broos saw his side fail to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup after a controversial loss to Ghana in the qualifying stages.
However, a year and a few months later, Broos and his SA squad managed to qualify for the upcoming AFCON finals in Côte d’Ivoire next year.
And riding a remarkable twelve-game unbeaten streak since September 2022, SA had notched seven wins and five draws in both friendly and competitive matches.
But, that incredible run of form came to an end on Tuesday after suffering a surprising 2-0 defeat to Rwanda at the synthetic, waterlogged Huye Stadium in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers clash.
The loss to Amavubi means Bafana missed a chance to top the table as they dropped to second spot. They have accumulated three points after beating Benin in the qualifiers’ opener at Moses Mabidha Stadium last Saturday.
South Africa are in Group C alongside Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Lesotho and Benin.
A NOTABLE IMPROVEMENT IN BAFANA BAFANA SQUAD
Despite the recent setback, the former midfield maestro, Tsutsulupa who donned the national team jersey years ago, has identified some noteworthy aspects of Broos’ team’s performance over the past few months.”
“Definitely, many things have changed in Bafana Bafana since the arrival of Hugo Broos. I think players’ minds are on a different level,” Tsutsulupa told FARPost.
“The majority of the players in the national team have realised that playing only in the PSL is no longer enough. So everybody now takes the opportunity to play in the national team seriously. I think that is what pushes them the most to excel when playing for a Bafana.”
The Swallows legend added: “If you know that you are a Bafana player, you need to be at your highest level all the time, you need to be consistent.
“Those players like Teboho Mokoena, Aubrey Modiba, and Themba Zwane, just to mention a few, their consistency in the past six months, has made things easier for the coach in terms of selection because, already, he now has a foundation for whatever tactics that he has to implement for any specific match.
“So he knows who he calls considering their recent performances.”
Bafana have been drawn in Group E alongside Tunisia, Mali, and Namibia for the AFCON that’s set to take place in January and February 2024.
SA’s first group assessment will be against Mali on 16 January, before facing Namibia five days later. They will round off their group by locking horns with Tunisia on the 24th of January.
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Story by Clifton Mabasa