Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says the win over Uganda in Kampala was to prove a point as they now to their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying group.
Broos admits they were not at their best in the opening half but overall deserved to win, as they now target 14 points from a possible 18 in Group K.
South Africa opened the group with a 2-2 draw against the Cranes in Orlando, salvaging a point with a last-gap equaliser from Thalente Mbatha.
They went on to beat South Sudan 3-2 with another last minute goal to secure three points, again via the Orlando Pirates midfielder.
But it’s been smooth sailing since then, as they beat and drew with Congo Brazzaville before securing a hard-fought 2-0 win in Kampala on Friday afternoon.
“I’m very happy we won the game today, it was tough, difficult in the first half, we played too slow, there was good defence from Uganda, not many chances in the first half,” Broos said.
“We played better in the second half, we found the deep man easier, it was a problem for Uganda, we scored at the right moment, we came here to win, we came here to be first in the group, which we are and we will try to win the game against South Sudan to stay first.”
Broos stated if they can beat Uganda, who were leading the group up until today, they have to finish the qualifiers with a win at home against the 172nd-ranked minnows.
“That is the normal thing you can imagine, it should not be nice if we lose that game on Tuesday, there will be a crowd [in Cape Town] so we will try to give them something nice with a win against South Sudan,” he added.
“It was important to win today, to be first in the group, nobody can say we qualified with luck – like some were saying after the defeat of Congo [vs South Sudan], we proved today, we don’t need luck, we can win games and can get 14 points, deserving to qualify for AFCON.”
South Africa will arrive in the Mother City on Saturday afternoon ahead of their clash against South Sudan on Tuesday at the DHL Stadium.
