Hugo Broos breaks silence on why he dropped key Bafana Bafana players for Cameroon AFCON clash as 'some are not happy' and discusses whether South Africans should be worried about regression

When the Bafana Bafana team's news came out before the Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 duel against Cameroon, it was clear Hugo Broos preferred a more defensive approach.

The 3-4-2-1 formation saw some players deployed not in their natural positions, with an example of Mbekezeli Mbokazi playing as a full-back, and instructions looked pretty clear: man-mark Bryan Mbeumo.

Some – Samukele Kabini, Nkosanathi Sibisi, Relebohile Mofokeng, and Bathusi Aubaas - were given their first starts, but the approach was too rigid, and Bafana struggled to contain their opponents.

When pressed to explain why he made the changes, Broos did not offer a straight explanation but said there would be an evaluation on what could have gone wrong. 

“I will not give a comment on that [the starting XI]. And secondly, it’s not strange that when players are replaced, some are not happy. I am not going to make declarations through emotions or frustration," Broos told the media.

“When you are emotional, sometimes you say things you regret afterwards, so I will not do that. We will make a detailed evaluation in the upcoming days and weeks of what was good and not good in Morocco at AFCON. 

"We will see what we need to change and what not to change because in six months there is the World Cup, and we need to be ready for that.” 

Broos, however, defended his match plan, saying it was the right one, but complained that his players did not take their chances to kill the game.

“Everyone is very disappointed, really unhappy today. I think we had the right plan. And everyone saw that in the first half, we had three open chances in the first half hour," the 2017 AFCON winner stated.

"Normally, the game has to be done then, but when you miss their chances on that level, you're made to pay later. And we paid the bill; they got a lucky goal. The corner – we cleared it out of the 16; the guy shoots, it touches our leg, goes to the feet of a Cameroonian player, and he scores.

"I think that was their first chance. Cameroon didn't have an answer to the way we played, but unfortunately, very soon in the second half, at the second goal, you know that it will be very difficult, because at that moment, Cameroon stayed very well at the block, around 16, they kicked the ball in front, and then they had some very quick players," he explained.

"We tried to be dangerous. We still had chances. And we scored a little bit late. There was not enough time because otherwise, I think we could have maybe played a draw and had extra time.

"As I said before the game, this team of Cameroon played with a big heart, fighting spirit, and physical strength, and it was a very strong and tough opponent, and I thought we saw that today. My players did what they had to do. For 90 minutes, they fought for it. But yeah, disappointment.”  

After elimination, questions rose on whether Bafana are regressing. The 1996 AFCON champions were eliminated at the semi-final in the last edition, and in Morocco, their journey ended in the Round of 16.

“No, we are not going backwards. Okay, I agree with you that maybe in some games the performances were not at the level of South Africa that everybody knows, but you can't say that for today," Broos explained.

"Sometimes you need a little bit of luck on your side, and if I can come back to two years ago, against Cape Verde in the quarterfinal, 10 seconds before the end, Ronwen (Williams) made a fantastic save; otherwise, we would have lost the game. 

"So, those are things that happen, and today we didn't have luck at our side. I agree with you. Maybe we conceded too many goals, and we only scored two or three in the tournament. But we're not going backwards, certainly not. But on the other side, I think we have to make a good evaluation of what happened here in this tournament."

After the elimination, Broos will be under more scrutiny, as many expected Bafana to do better. With the World Cup set to take place in a matter of months, his squad selection will be a highly scrutinised subject.