Broos reveals ‘only concern’ for Bafana ahead of Congo return tie
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revealed the “only concern” for his side ahead of their return tie against Congo Brazzaville in the AFCON qualifiers.
South Africa ran riot in a resounding 5-0 victory over The Red Devils at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Friday night.
The 1996 AFCON champions are now just three points shy of clinching a place in the 2025 AFCON tournament scheduled to take place in Morocco.
Despite their nearly flawless display against Congo in South Africa, Broos acknowledges that the opponents will be eager to avenge their heavy defeat.
He expressed concern about the potential challenges of playing on artificial turf, which may be in poor condition. He noted that the team has previously struggled on such surfaces.
ARTIFICIAL TURF, CONCERN FOR HUGO BROOS AHEAD OF CONGO RETURN TIE
“My only concern is to see the pitch there,” said Broos in the post-match press conference.
“It’s a synthetic pitch. We have already in the past had bad experiences with synthetic pitches if they’re not good.
“I think of the one in Rwanda, that was really bad. I never understand that how can you play a qualifier for a World Cup on such a pitch.
“But okay, let’s look first to that. And if the pitch is like, for example like the one in South Sudan, then we can’t complain.
“And then we have to be able also to play good football in that. But if the pitch is not good, it will be more of fighting football. Okay, if we have to do it like that, we will do it like that.
“But let’s hope that the pitch is good and we can make or play our best football like we’re used to because this team will revenge. They lost 5-0, I think there will be pressure on the guys.
“So we have to prepare for that also and be ready again for the difficult game but if we can achieve our level, play with same mentality, then we have big opportunity to win the game also.”
Bafana face Congo on Tuesday, 15 October at the Stade Alphonse Massemba-Debat at 6 pm.
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