Hugo Broos relieved by South Africa win but warns open play could end AFCON hopes early
South Africa head coach Hugo Broos admitted to feeling relieved after his team secured a 3–2 Group B win over Zimbabwe on Monday, a result that confirmed Bafana Bafana’s place in the Round of 16 at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. However, the Belgian coach warned that continuing to play such open football could quickly cost them in the knockout stage.
Bafana Bafana went in front three times before eventually overcoming The Warriors, who created several chances of their own and struck the post in what proved to be a fortunate night for Broos’ men in Marrakech.
“We started very well, the circulation of the ball was good, until we scored the first goal (through Tshepang Moremi),” Broos said. “And then for one reason or another we made the same mistakes as in the previous games – bad passes, not taking the correct positions anymore.
“And then you give the opportunity to the opponent to be dangerous. If you see how the first goal is made, the guy (Tawanda Maswanhise) runs through three or four of our players without a tackle. If you go on defending like this, then you will concede goals every game. This has to stop.
“The same thing happened in the second half. We have control of the ball and score the goal (via Lyle Foster), and then suddenly we start to do things we don’t need to do. We can’t keep the ball anymore; we start again to play centrally, losing the ball and giving the opportunity to Zimbabwe to play in transition. We were in trouble again.
“OK, you can have attacking and offensive football, but you also have to think about defending. This is a problem for us. We have to put it right in the six days before our next game so we can again play for a clean sheet.
“That was one of our strongest points at the last AFCON, but now it is a weakness. We have to work on it. If we go on like this, it will be difficult to win against our next opponent.”
South Africa will only discover their Round of 16 opponents on Wednesday, with a meeting against the runners-up from Group F awaiting them. That opponent is expected to be one of defending champions Ivory Coast, Cameroon or, less likely, Mozambique.
Although Broos’ side are yet to fully convince, they showed their ability in knockout football at the last AFCON, where they claimed the bronze medal and were only eliminated by Nigeria on penalties in the semifinals.
The coach also suggested that some players need to raise their level as the tournament progresses.
“I am not really happy with the performance or the way some players are acting on the pitch,” he said. “From the beginning of the tournament, we have to know that the progression we have made in the last two or three years is not a guarantee that we will win games.
“Now everybody knows what a good team we are, and the mindset of the opponent is totally different. We have to adapt to that. We will have to play every game at 100% of our talent and qualities. If we don’t do that, we will be in trouble.
“If we want to go far in this tournament, this is the mentality we need. And if we don’t, it will be finished very quickly.”
Burnley striker Lyle Foster scored his second goal in three matches after facing criticism before the tournament. Broos believes the forward will continue to deliver if he receives the right support.
“You need support as a striker, and when there is none it becomes difficult. But when the movement around Lyle is good, then he can take advantage of that. He is strong and quick, and you can use him very well.
“In the beginning of the game it was good, then we started to play badly and it became difficult for him. The passes around him have to be better, the focus and concentration have to be better, and then he will score, always.”
Broos also explained his halftime change in midfield, introducing Bathusi Aubaas for Yaya Sithole, and praised the impact of the substitute.
“Bathusi did very well when he came in. We had more pace on the ball, and his passing helped us a lot. Yaya was a little bit… he lost the ball too easily and took the wrong decisions.
“With Bathusi we had more security, both when we lost the ball and when we had it. He had a very good 45 minutes.”
South Africa will play their Round of 16 match in Rabat on Sunday.
