Bafana Bafana’s coach, Hugo Broos, expressed his satisfaction with his side’s performance in Friday’s international friendly against Tanzania, on a night marked by debut displays and new beginnings.
The match ended in a goalless draw at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo. Despite the lack of goals, Broos was encouraged by the contributions of fresh talent within the squad.
Bafana Bafana fielded a reshuffled lineup, with eight newcomers donning the national team jersey. Broos acknowledged the challenges of assembling a side with limited experience playing together, aside from the few who share club commitments.
“There were eight new national team jerseys today, and what I want to say is we had a new team today, with players who have never played together before, except those who play for the same team,” said Broos.
“So, it was not easy. I said it before the game, the result is not important. For me, it was not important.”
The sentiment that performance precedes results is echoed throughout Broos’ statements. There were opportunities for Bafana Bafana to clinch the win, yet the coach found solace in their overall performance and teamwork, noting:
“Sure, we wanted to win the game, and we could have won the game because we had some chances to do so. But the performance was more important.
“You don’t have to underestimate the fact that if you bring 23 players together and select 11 to play a game, players who’ve never played together, that is not easy.”
Coaching counterpart Hemed Suleiman of Tanzania’s Taifa Stars also felt the magnitude of the match, acknowledging Bafana Bafana’s potential as they both prepare for upcoming tournaments.
“As I said before, South Africa have a good team. I think they are trying to build their team for the future because I saw that they were missing some players,” Suleiman noted.
He acknowledged the challenge the South African squad presented and appreciated the players’ efforts to adapt and mould their strategy even amid challenges.
Bafana Bafana will continue to build upon this experience as they prepare for their encounter against Mozambique at the same venue on Tuesday night.
With the prospect of refining team dynamics and fostering player chemistry, the current squad would improve with more experience.
Broos is likely to add more fresh faces to the squad to face Mozambique, and possibly the changes will help secure a victory.
