Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revealed why he rejected a call from African football giants Morocco three months ago, as he continues to prepare his troops for the 2025 AFCON tournament.
Instead, Broos appears to have gladly accepted calls from Tanzania and Mozambique for two international friendlies, using these matches to blood new faces and expand his player pool.
In their first friendly last Friday at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, a new-look Bafana played to a goalless draw against Tanzania. The encounter saw several talents, including Deano Van Rooyen, Simphiwe Selepe, Mohau Nkota and Khulumani Ndamane, make their national team debuts.
Broos will be keenly observing the performance of the new players in Tuesday night’s clash against Mozambique, also in Polokwane.
The two friendlies provide an opportunity for the coach to assess options, especially with the absence of Mamelodi Sundowns players, who are preparing for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup later this month in the United States of America [USA].
Sundowns departed for the USA from the OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday afternoon, embarking on their FIFA Club World Cup campaign.
Their tournament journey starts in Orlando, where they’ll face South Korea’s Ulsan on June 17. Four days later, they’ll challenge German giants Borussia Dortmund in Cincinnati. The Tshwane giants will conclude their group stage fixtures against Fluminense in Miami on June 25.
BROOS CITES SUNDOWNS PLAYER ABSENCE FOR MOROCCO FRIENDLY REJECTION
Bafana coach Broos has explained his decision to reject a friendly against Morocco, citing the unavailability of key players, especially those from Sundowns.
The Belgian mentor stressed that he wasn’t willing to risk a repeat of the 5-0 defeat Bafana suffered against France in 2022 in a friendly.
“Playing against top teams, you have to do it with your best team, not like now when Sundowns players are not available,” said. Broos. “We have a lot of young players in the team.
“We had a call from Morocco to play against Morocco. Immediately, I said: ‘No’ because I don’t want to have a game like France. Nobody understands if you play against Morocco and you have a big defeat, everybody is angry.
“I know why and I understand it, but people don’t understand it, so you need to choose the good opponents, strong opponents, but not the strongest of Africa, as you put yourself in trouble.
“Two to three months ago, we had a phone call with Morocco and they said we want to play against you in Morocco, and I said ‘No no no’ because I knew already that we should try to do this [call up new faces into the team],” reiterated the outspoken Bafana coach.
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