Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has promised a better version of his team at the Africa Cup of Nations following a lacklustre showing in their final warm-up match.
The South African national team played out to a goalless draw against lowly-ranked Lesotho at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville on Wednesday, as they wrapped up their preparations for the continental showpiece.
It was a match that left Bafana with more questions than answers, while handing a huge chunk of the squad some game time.
Prior to the encounter, the Belgian mentor raised an issue of his squad being physically taxed after a long first round of the domestic league.
‘Need more freshness’
Broos also put Bafana through their paces in the week-long camp he had with them in Stellenbosch, and both of these factors combined – the well-travelled coach believes – showed in his team’s sluggish performance.
“I said before the game that it is a preparation game. We had some hard work in the last few days, and I think we needed a little bit more freshness to beat Lesotho,” Broos said.
“But I’m not unhappy – certainly not – and everyone had the opportunity to play, so I think what we wanted to do, we have done.”
Broos then reassured the supporters of South Africa that his side would be in the right state of mind and at their physical peak when they play their opening match in Ivory Coast.
The 23-man squad departed from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Thursday for Abidjan, from where they will travel immediately to Korhogo, where they will take on Mali in their Afcon Group E opener on Tuesday at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium (10pm kick-off, SA time).
“But on the other side, I asked the players before the game to show that they have a good mentality, that they want to win the game – and that’s what I saw,” Broos said.
“In a few other days, that will be different … We will be better, and that will be better.”
The outspoken 71-year-old coach did not deny his side’s desire to claim the victory on the day, but warned the masses not to read too much into a “friendly”.
Change the mentality
The former Afcon winner – with Cameroon in 2017 – also challenged the mentality of his group to come to the surface a week before the commencement of the Afcon.
“We would have liked to win the game, that is for sure, and everyone will say, ‘Oh, 0-0 against Lesotho’.
“But you have to see the circumstances and again, as I said even before the game that this is not even a friendly match for me … It’s a preparation game.
“What we needed to see and what we needed not to see, that’s what happened today. We wanted to see the mentality, and the mentality was good.
“I knew that the freshness would not be there, and you saw it today, there were some moments in the game that we needed that freshness.”
Broos will need the likes of vice-captain Percy Tau, Themba Zwane and Mihlali Mayambela to ignite their creative juices as well as carry their scoring boots and lead the Bafana attack.
After Bafana open their Afcon campaign against Mali on Tuesday, they will go on to play Tunisia and Namibia in their other Group E matches.