South Africans warned against 'unwanted pressure' around Bafana Bafana as Hugo Broos sets AFCON focus on Angola who are 'strong and a nightmare'

In search of another continental glory, South Africa will begin their Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Angola on Tuesday.

After finishing third in Ivory Coast in the last AFCON edition, fans expect them to have a more successful campaign in North Africa. Under Broos, Bafana have been impressive and have also qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals under immense pressure.

Even as they retain the right to be ambitious, South Africans have been asked to manage their expectations. Former South Africa international goalkeeper Brighton Mhlongo believes that too much pressure on the team might bring an unwanted result.

"Sometimes it's good to be ambitious; it's good also to set the standards and expectations as well for the team, for the players, and for everyone who is involved," Mhlongo said on The Carwash Podcast.

"But at the same time, we need to be wary of how we put out those things, especially for the country at large, because for us, custodians of football, and I'm talking as a fan right now, it's easy to misquote and misinterpret what you are saying.

"When things don't work out, because yes, we've had a fantastic run throughout, so many games unbeaten under coach Hugo Broos, and we've seen great nations go through that.  We saw Spain coming into 2010 as the winner, and then in the following campaign, they struggled.  They even lost the Euros," he added.

"We saw Italy doing the same thing.  We saw France reaching the 2006 final, but after that, they've been horrible.  We saw the most famous one, the most recent one as well, which was Germany in Brazil. They were a masterclass.  They were hammering everyone, and then, in the following 2018 World Cup, they were horrible; they were horrendous.

"So, all those things, we will never know what might happen, because we have two back-to-back major tournaments.  We have AFCON right now, and a lot can still happen."

Looking at Group B, the former Orlando Pirates star has said Bafana must be very resilient in order to meet the fans' expectations because the opponents are tough.

"Expectations – everyone is saying we've set the bar very high with the bronze medal; nothing less than a final.  But the question is now, should we not even make it out of the group, which is out of the question for everyone, but when you look at the group, it's a relatively tough group," he explained.

"We have Angola; they're physically strong, they're a nightmare. You have Zimbabwe, who like to be the noisy neighbours, the disturbing neighbours. Then you have Egypt as well, who have a bone to pick with us after the 2019 AFCON.

"So all of those things, when you combine them together, it's unwanted pressure around the team, around the country.  So my thing is that we are proud of the squad for making sure that they qualify.  All they have to do now is just take it from there, go to the field of play, and take it one game at a time."

Angola's head coach, Patrice Beaumelle, has said they are ready to upset South Africa even though they are perceived to be a stronger side.

“Every competition is different, and for us, the target is not only to play and to beat South Africa. The target is to start in a good way because it’s a long process," the Frenchman said.

“The Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] is a one-month tournament, and we just have to start the way we have to start. Of course, in any competition, there are three ways: a win, a draw, or a loss.

“If we win, it will be perfect, and it will change the statistics against Bafana Bafana. If we draw or if we lose, we still have two games to go [against Egypt and Zimbabwe in Group B],” he added.

“So we are ready to start a long competition, and the main target is not only to play against Bafana Bafana. It’s just a long process, and we are ready to start."