Broos much happier with performance against Ivory Coast

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Oct 18, 2023. 13:00

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos praised his team for causing Ivory Coast trouble in their 1-1 draw at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny on Tuesday night.

Broos was far from impressed with the performance of his players last Friday when they played out to an uninspiring 0-0 draw against Eswatini at the FNB Stadium.

However, the Belgian tactician came way from the clash with the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations hosts in a much better mood following a fine display from South Africa in Abidjan.

Themba Zwane opened the scoring after just nine minutes to get Broos’ side off to a flying start, although Sebastien Haller hit back for the Elephants 24 minutes from time to claim a share of the spoils.

“As angry as I was last Friday, I am happy and pleased today,” the 71-year-old said. “I think SA played a very good game against a very good team. There was a good mentality on the pitch and they played good football.

“It wasn’t only defending but the way we attacked put Ivory Coast in trouble. I said to the players before the game that [they should] try to have a good performance first before thinking about a good result.”

Broos believes Bafana are primed to pick up maximum points from their opening two 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda next month before turning their attention to AFCON 2023.

“Now I am more satisfied. I believe that we can make two good games in November. What I’ve always said it has to be six (referring to points against Benin and Rwanda) out of six and then to have a good AFCON.”