Hugo Broos, head coach of South Africa. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix
Mihlali Baleka
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has mapped out what they need to do to win their group and qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The South Africa’s men national team are in Group C for the qualifiers, alongside Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Benin, Lesotho and Nigeria.
They’ve had a decent start as well. They are second in the group with seven points, level with leaders Rwanda after the first four rounds of matches. Having qualified for this year’s Afcon finals in Morocco without a loss in Group K, they’ll resume with their bid to seal their ticket to North America next month.
Bafana will host neighbours Lesotho on March 17, before flying out to Ivory Coast, where Benin will host them for a qualifier on March 24.
Broos, speaking during a round-table chat with invited journalists this week, did his maths on what it’d take for Bafana to qualify for the global showpiece for the first time since 2010 as hosts.
“We now have seven points, and then I count six (in March), it’s 13. And then we have four games, which tally up to 12 points. I think if you have 16/17 points, you have qualified,” Broos said.
The next edition of the World Cup has been expanded to 48 teams, and therefore Africa will have at least nine representatives instead of the usual five. And so, that’s why there’ll be no African play-offs after the group stage, as the nine nations who finish on top of their respective groups will qualify for the event in North America.
Broos is not getting carried away, though, saying that it’s important that Bafana win their games, especially next month, to be in the running for top spot in their group.
“All the teams are still in the running. Therefore, March can be a key month, and things will be a little bit clearer,” Broos said.
“And then after that, we can say, for example, Rwanda is out. Again, that’s why it’s very important to win the two games (against Lesotho and Benin).”
Broos, though, has already exceeded expectations with Bafana, guiding the team to a third-place finish in the Afcon finals in Ivory Coast and back-to-back qualifications.
The Belgian, though, is not naive to think that he must now rest on his laurels. He knows that he has to guide the team to the World Cup, or resign if that doesn’t happen.
“You know, and it should be totally normal, that if we don’t qualify for the World Cup, after Afcon, I stop. Why should I go on until June?” Broos explained. This should be totally normal. But from what I expect, after we qualify for the World Cup, you should see me for more than a year. And I am very happy with that.
“It’s also a personal ambition. I was there as a player at the World Cup, but I want to be there (as a coach) and then stop my career because I will be 74 (years of age) next year.”
Broos has asked the football fraternity to lower their expectations should they reach the promised land and qualify for the World Cup as they are unlikely to go further than the last 16.
“You know we have to be realistic. If tomorrow South Africa qualifies for the World Cup, we don’t have to talk about quarter-finals and semi-finals,” Broos said.
“I think if we go to the World Cup, like I said with Afcon, we need to have the ambition to pass the group stage.
“And then you play against Argentina, a big team, or Brazil, and then you go home (as a proud team in the end).”
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