Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained his halftime substitution of Sphehelo Sithole who made way for Bathusi Aubaas during Monday’s 2025 AFCON 3-2 victory over Zimbabwe at Stade de Marrakech.
South Africa reached the tournament’s Round of 16 following this five-goal thriller which was their second win in Group B. They will now face the runner-up from Group F and that is likely to be defending champions Ivory Coast or Cameroon.
Broos and his men now switch base camp to Rabat where they play their Last-16 match on Sunday.
However, to secure passage to this round, they had to sweat against Zimbabwe in a closely contested final group game. The Warriors needed victory to take up second spot and reach the next phase. They then threatened to cause an upset after coming back twice to level matters.
However, Bafana clung on to their slim lead and reached the more demanding knockouts. But Broos was not happy with central midfielder Sithole and withdrew him for Mamelodi Sundowns’ Aubaas.
WHY BROOS INTRODUCED AUBAAS FOR SITHOLE
“I think Bathusi did very well when he came in and we had more pace on the ball. He was good in recuperation and also in passing and that helped us a lot,” said Broos.
“Yaya lost the ball too easily, took the wrong decisions and that was not good for our team. So, with Bathusi we had more security when we lost the ball and also when we had the ball.
“And again, it was a very good 45 minutes from my side. But Bathusi like he played in the 45 minutes we can use him very well.”
Having to grapple with Sithole’s struggles in midfield, Broos feels his team, in general, had confidence issues. The former Cameroon coach has noted his men are yet to adapt to the demands of being regarded as one of the tournament favourites.
“I have to agree that I’m not really happy with the performance or the way some players are acting on the pitch, that is true [confidence issues]. Again, this is something we have to work on,” said the Belgian.
“It’s from the beginning of the tournament. We have to know that the progression we made in the last two or three years is not a guarantee that you come on the pitch and you win the game.
“I have said it before the tournament that it will be more tougher for us than the tournament two years ago because now everybody knows what a good team you are. The mindset of your opponents is totally different.
“We have to adapt to that knowing that it will not be easy for us anymore. We will have to play every game on 100 percent of our talent and qualities,” Broos went on.
“And if we don’t do it with the right mentality, we will always be in trouble. It’s not that you are now South Africa and teams are afraid of you. No, there is a motivation for the teams to try to beat you.
“So, you have to fight more, you have to be more focused and not thinking that it will be easy.”
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