The Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, is proud of his players’ habit of not bothering to listen to ‘experts’ talking about the national team, forgetting that it was an unbridgeable hole for many South Africans when it took place five years ago.
Broos has included Bafana twice in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) following the World Cup from 2021. He is the first coach in the history of this national team that passed the group stage with a 1-0 victory over South Korea yesterday morning in Mexico. Bafana will face Canada in the Last 32 match at the Los Angeles Stadium, in the United States of America on Sunday at 9 pm.
Although Broos is loved by many who follow South African football, this Belgian coach has been criticized a lot because of the way he set up the scheme in the first match of the World Cup in which Bafana was defeated by Mexico.
While speaking to the media after the victory in South Korea, Broos lashed out at those who criticized him, calling them ‘knowers’ who ended up speaking up again.
“I am proud of my players for not bothering to listen to what is said by those outside the camp, but focus on what we have planned,” said Broos.
“It’s fun today, we’re all happy, including those who talk a lot about what we should do and what we shouldn’t do.
“We did it our way and got the success we needed, but we are also happy with those who said there was nothing wrong with us going to the World Cup.
“Nothing will scare us now that we are in the Last 32 because we have done the most difficult thing (fighting to get through the group).
“We will respect Canada, but this does not mean that we do not believe that we can advance to the next stage.”
The coach revealed that FIFA rejected them when they asked them to hurry up to take the trip to Los Angeles with the aim of cutting the time that will be wasted on the way instead of planning for Canada.
Bafana is based in Pachuca, Mexico but played the first game in Mexico City. The one from South Korea played it in Monterrey, Mexico, but the one who went through Czechia ran it to Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
“Although there is a lot of time that will be wasted traveling instead of planning our biggest game, it is not worth it because we tried and Fifa refused,” said Broos.