Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained why it was difficult for Percy Tau to do what he asked of him in Tuesday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Benin.

South Africa triumphed 2-0 over the West African nation in the qualifier hosted in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Tuesday.

The win saw Bafana consolidate their position at the summit of the table with 13 points from six games. They lost once to Rwanda under difficult pitch conditions early in the campaign and drew once with Nigeria away.

In Themba Zwane and Patrick Maswanganyi’s absence, Broos explains he expected the Qatar SC attacker to “play between the lines”. Jayden Adams replaced the former Al Ahly star in the second half.

The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder, Adams, scored Bafana’s second goal to seal the victory. Burnley FC striker Lyle Foster had scored the opener for Broos’s charges. The Lesotho tie was Tau’s 50th in Bafana colours, a milestone.

WHY TAU COULDN’T DO WHAT BROOS ASKED OF HIM

“You know, what we wanted was for Percy to play between the lines,” Broos said in his post-match presser. “He’s a good player who can deliver key passes. However, Benin had someone closely marking him all the time, making it challenging for him.”

The Belgian mentor added he was happy with Tau’s effort. The 30-year-old has recently faced criticism, with fans questioning his performance.

“Still, I’m happy with the work he did. He worked really hard for the team. Maybe he couldn’t quite do what we asked of him, but when a player works like that and tries to do what’s expected, the coach can’t be unhappy.

“Once again, maybe it wasn’t the Percy Tau we wanted to see, but, on the other hand, he worked hard for the team. And that’s something very important.”

Bafana’s next game in the 2026 qualifying campaign is against Lesotho. The game is expected to be played in South Africa because Lesotho does not have a CAF-approved stadium for hosting international competitions.

Nigeria will then visit South Africa in a potentially explosive encounter to complete the September schedule. In October, the curtain comes down on the 2026 campaign with clashes against Zimbabwe and Rwanda.

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