Percy Tau and Danny Jordaan Bafana Bafana forward Percy Tau (second from left) greets Safa president Danny Jordaan (left) at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Thursday, with coach Hugo Broos in the background. Photo: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
POLOKWANE: Bafana Bafana’s FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign would take on disastrous status should they not beat Lesotho in Friday evening’s Group C clash against Lesotho at the Peter Mokaba Stadium (6pm kick-off).
Not that coach Hugo Broos is underestimating their opponents from the tiny Mountain Kingdom that is completely surrounded by South Africa.
Far from it, for the Belgian – having watched Cameroon drop two points at lowly Eswatini – acknowledges the potential banana skin that is Likuena.
It is for that reason that he wants his team to avoid what could be a potential setback in their quest to qualify for the global football spectacle set for the Americas – USA, Canada and Mexico – in 2026.
“It will be a disaster if we don’t win tomorrow,” Broos said during the Matchday-1 press conference deep in the bowels of the venue on Thursday.
“We have to keep ourselves in the same position we are in, and with three points tomorrow, we can go to Benin (on Tuesday) for another three points.
“And as I said before, six in a group of 10 games – the third game can be a key day. If we can achieve a six on six, let’s try to do it.
“We are aware of the difficulties we can have tomorrow, but we have to believe in ourselves and our qualities.”
That they are a much better quality side than their opponents and the FIFA rankings confirm that much, Bafana being positioned 57th, while Lesotho are a massive 92 places below them.
On paper, this should be a no-contest.
Football is, however, not played on paper, and rankings are often more than just numbers, with very little influence on what transpires on the pitch.
This much was proven out at the Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday, when 159th-placed Eswatini held a Cameroon side in 49th spot to a goalless draw.
“Everyone is fit for tomorrow, for the difficult and tough game. In Africa, you are never sure about a victory before a game. We saw it yesterday, Cameroon against Eswatini (finished) 0-0.
“Tomorrow, we have an opponent we don’t have to underestimate. They played in September against Morocco and only lost 1-0 in the 93rd minute. More than a year ago in Nigeria, they played 1-1.
“From our side, we have to be confident in our own qualities and show that last year, I think we can talk about maybe even a historical year with the bronze medal, good games and qualification for the next AFCON.
“But today, that is all history. We don’t have to count on gifts from other teams. We have to do it ourselves starting with tomorrow.”
Broos know how important it is going to be for Bafana not to panic.
“It is important that we keep to the game plan. It will not be easy. Maybe if we are lucky from the beginning and we can score one or two goals it becomes another game,” he said.
“But I don’t think it will be like that. We are in front of an opponent who fights for every metre and fights for every ball.
“Maybe they don’t have our qualities – I am talking about football technical abilities – but they have a fantastic mentality.”
He says the challenge is on Bafana to be at their best.
“It is up to us to have the right mindset from the beginning of the game,” Broos said.
“And even if the game does not go as we expect it to, we must keep to the game-plan because then if we start doubting like the way Cameroon did in the last 20 minutes of their game and start kicking the ball in front, you don’t achieve what you want.
“That’s why we must keep ourselves in the right mindset.”