Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says beating Morocco in the Last-16 of the Africa Cup of Nations could be the turning point for South African football.
South Africa has notably lost support from the general public with stadium attendance dwindling since the 2010 FIFA World Cup due to their lack of success.
The lack of high-profile players starring in the top leagues in Europe has also diminished, which is showcased by 20 of the 23 players in the current squad based in South Africa.
Percy Tau (Al Ahly), Sphephelo Sithole (Tondela) and Mihlali Mayambela (Aris Limassol) are the only players outside the borders and Broos feels beating the number one ranked nation in Africa can bring attention to South African talent once more, on a global stage.
“You know we’re in front of a very important game tomorrow – and I think if we can succeed tomorrow, that we can maybe be there until the end, so therefore already it’s important,” Broos said when asked by iDiski Times about the desire to knock out the final North African side in the competition.
“But it’s also important for African football, South African football… South Africa were for a very long time out of international levels like this, I think the last AFCON was the quarter-final in 2019.
“But for the rest, results weren’t good and we can change that tomorrow, it should be very important for South African football to beat Morocco, maybe it should be and will be more interest in South African players because it’s what we don’t have in South Africa.
“When there’s interest, those players will have to go to Europe and get that experience, it’s something that we need in the future, again, it’s not only important to go through but also important for South African football in general.”
The 2017 AFCON-winning coach says their first game in Rabat, in which they lost 2-1 is chalk and cheese from the game at the Laurent Poukou Stadium.
“The first time we played in [Rabat] against Morrocco, I don’t think we were ready for that game, we were still building a team and when you look at the players who played that game, it’s a big difference in names than the team playing tomorrow,” he said.
“A year later we had the team I wanted and since then I’ve nearly always worked with let’s say nearly, 70 or 80 percent of those players, we’ve built a team, we’re not the same team anymore [that lost in Rabat] and we proved it last year in June against Morocco.
“When we achieve our best level, it’s possible, then it’s possible to beat Morcco and it’s up to us to do that, but comparing the two games is impossible, two different games, maybe we were a bit more motivated in Johburg, Morocco was qualified, we wanted to show our supporters something – but it’s still possible, we believe in it and hope for it.”
Bafana and the Atlas Lions do battle in the humid coastal city if Ivory Coast, San Pedro at 22h00 on Tuesday evening.
