The head coach of South Africa, Hugo Broos, has claimed losing to Nigeria in their 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday, should not be a disaster.
Bafana Bafana play the Super Eagles at Godswill Akpabio Stadium and then play another Group C match against Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
The match against Nigeria comes exactly four months after the two sides met in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
That Afcon clash ended 1-1 after extra time but Nigeria prevailed through a penalty shootout and they now collide again on the road to World Cup qualification.
South Africa coach Hugo Broos does not want his players to be under pressure going into Friday’s showdown as he plays down the importance of winning.
“We want to have a good result against Nigeria because this is a qualifier for the World Cup and we don’t think about revenge,” Broos said as per Times Live.
“Losing the game should not be a disaster because after that we still have six games to play. But I would rather not have a defeat to Nigeria.
“We know all about them but they also know all about us. I think they will not start the game with the same mentality they had at Afcon because they know how strong we are,” the Belgian added.
“We have to use our status of being the team that finished third at Afcon but at the same time we must stay humble. We still have to work, fight and produce the same mentality we showed at Afcon.”
