Broos admits he doubted Bafana Bafana after Zimbabwe draw

BetOdds WC Qualification Africa South Africa v Ghana South Africa Ghana

A late Bongokuhle Hlongwane strike took South Africa top of Group G with four points, having drawn 0-0 with Zimbabwe in their opener last Friday

Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos was thrilled with the response his team gave him when they beat Ghana 1-0 in a 2022 World Cup qualifier at the FNB Stadium on Monday evening.

After a cautious and nervy showing against Zimbabwe in Harare last week, a youthful South Africa's chances of claiming even a point against a strong Ghana side looked slim.

But having taken 10 or 15 minutes to settle in at the FNB Stadium, Bafana put in an inspired performance against the Black Stars to emerge deserved victors and they could even have won by a larger margin had Evidence Makgopa not missed a sitter and had Percy Tau's legitimate goal not been incorrectly ruled out for off-side

It seems even Broos was taken aback with what his men dished up in Soweto on Monday evening.

"I'm very proud and happy today of what I saw in the pitch of my team. We made big progress in one week," the Belgian told the media after the match.

"When I saw my team playing in Zimbabwe, there was no confidence, no determination, no belief in themselves.

"What I saw today, I saw a team with confidence, who played a very good game. There was determination, there was the will to win, there was discipline and that's what I like.

"So we have four out of six now. A few days ago I said with four out of six I would be happy. But I thought we could play to a win with Zimbabwe and draw with Ghana. It's the contrary now, so I'm not unhappy.

"We will see if we go on making progress like we did this week, we will see where we will end at the end of the race."

South Africa could potentially be overtaken by Zimbabwe at the top of the standings should their Southern African neighbours beat Ethiopia by more than one goal when they meet in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

Ghana beat Ethiopia 1-0 last weekend, leaving the West Africans with three points from two matches.

2021-09-07 10:00:02

Comments

Send Your Comment

Download Application