Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says must be fully focussed on their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo-Brazzaville despite the chaos surrounding their opponents.
The Congolese team are only expected to arrive in Gqeberha for the clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday shortly before kickoff, after military forces reportedly forcibly removed their federations staff from their offices, which resulted in an administrative nightmare.
According to the reports, the government is attempting to take over the administration of the Congo-Brazzaville football federation. But this could result in the team being banned from competing internationally by FIFA.
However, Broos said it’s business as usual for Bafana, who are looking for maximum points from the encounter before Tuesday’s return leg in Brazzaville.
“We have to take account of the opponent, there were a lot of things happening in Congo at the beginning of the week,” Broos said.
“But I think we can make no bigger mistake than thinking now the team will be influenced by what happened and won’t be ready for the game.
“Professional players always want to win games, you can be sure, they know also that they need to win and have a good result here in South Africa to have a chance to qualify.”
Broos added that the Congolese players will also be desperate to try and qualify for continental showpiece in Morocco between December 21, 2025, and January 18, 2026.
The top two finishers in the eleven groups, that do not include tournament hosts Morocco, will earn qualification to the competition.
Bafana are second spot in Group K, level on points with group leaders Uganda following a win against South Sudan and a draw against the Cranes.
Congo-Brazzaville are third in the group following a win over South Sudan and a defeat against the Ugandans.
“Which players don’t want to be qualified for AFCON? So it’s up to us to be ready tomorrow from the beginning of the game and I hope that there’s a crowd and help support us to have a good performance and to win the game. That’s step one,” said Broos.
“Let’s try tomorrow, to see the good South Africa that we all know from the past months and that we can finish the game with victory.”
@JohnGoliath82