‘Hugo Broos saw them now and he can make decisions - One or two in this team will beef up Bafana Bafana’ - Kaizer Chiefs coach sends message to the Belgian boss after Cosafa Cup defeat

The Bafana Bafana B side fell short of claiming a record-extending sixth Cosafa Cup title after suffering a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Angola in the final at the Free State Stadium on Sunday, 15 June. 

While the result was a tough one to digest for the home fans, coach Vela Khumalo remained composed in his post-match reflections. Rather than being overly critical of his squad, Khumalo highlighted the positives, stating that several players have put themselves in contention for a call-up to the senior national team.

“Look, I think we played a good team, congratulations to them - it tells you a little bit (that) it’s their first team and they played very well. Coming back to the game itself, I think the game we played against Comoros took a little bit of energy out of us, we were not energetic,” Khumalo told SuperSport TV.

“But, we spoke about their set-pieces, where they are going to score from, standard situations and they did exactly that. It was all about lapse of concentration from our boys but I cannot falter them now, it’s gone, it’s done & dusted, we’ve got silver even though we wanted to have gold. It’s one of those things that we take and go,” he continued.

“We tried. We wanted to be more offensive, taking on players but the energy was somehow depleted because of the (previous) game we played, which is not an excuse but we take silver as I said. Good lessons, I think it was good exposure for our boys. I think Hugo Broos saw them now and he can make decisions on them. We had quality, we had a talented team, we played very well and it is up to the coach to see who he can pick. One or two in this team will beef up the senior Bafana Bafana,” he concluded.

Taking silver on home soil remains an achievement for South Africa, particularly in light of the team’s recent difficulties progressing beyond the knockout stages. 

Since lifting the Cosafa Cup in 2021, they have encountered a series of challenges that have seen them exit the tournament earlier than anticipated.

While Khumalo believes some players from his Cosafa team have the potential to make the senior Bafana Bafana squad, the big question is whether they meet Hugo Broos’ standards, especially with crucial Fifa World Cup qualifiers and the Africa Cup of Nations coming up later this year.

Broos will also have more experienced players at his disposal, meaning any newcomers will need to prove they’re ready to compete at the highest level.