Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos cautions against making a ‘big mistake’ as they face under-pressure Nigeria in important World Cup qualifier

South Africa are riding high following a dominant 3-0 victory over Lesotho on Friday, 5 September. The win took Bafana Bafana to 16 points from seven matches, keeping them firmly atop Group C. 

However, Hugo Broos’ side face a stern test in their next outing against Nigeria, who sit third in the group with 10 points from seven games. Despite having the upper hand, Broos has warned his players that their World Cup qualification mission is far from over.  

“Nigeria were the favourites to win the group. Now, we are in a situation that I didn’t really expect from the beginning,” Broos told the media in the pre-match press conference on Monday. 

“Six points ahead of Nigeria, five points ahead of Benin and that’s with three games to play. So, that means we are in a good position but it’s still not finished. I think it will be a big mistake from our side thinking nothing can happen here.  

‘It’s up to us to play a very good game against a very good team. If Nigeria is not winning then they are in very big problems, so the pressure is on them. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t know that it will be a tough game. We will try to win it, like we always do for every game. It should be a very good result, fantastic result. We don’t play tomorrow for a draw, that is too dangerous to do that. We will try to win it,” he concluded.

South Africa have struggled to get the better of Nigeria in recent years, having not recorded a win against the Super Eagles since 2017. 

The last two meetings between the sides both ended in draws, including a 1-1 World Cup qualifier in Uyo and a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in the Ivory Coast, which saw South Africa lose on penalties after a stalemate following extra time.  

Bafana’s next challenge against Nigeria will be 6 pm (SA time) at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein on Wednesday, 9 September. 

Then, the final round of qualifiers will see Bafana face Zimbabwe on 6 October and Rwanda on 13 October.