Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has identified what he believes could be a key “advantage” for his team heading into the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
South Africa will be among the 48 nations competing for the prestigious global trophy, with the tournament set to take place across the USA, Mexico, and Canada in June.
This marks Bafana Bafana’s first qualification for the World Cup since the 2002 edition held in Japan and South Korea, where they were knocked out in the group stages.
Although South Africa also hosted the tournament in 2010, they were unable to progress beyond the group phase despite the benefit of playing on home soil.
Looking ahead, Broos suggested that both South Africa and Panama are often underestimated on the global stage, as they are not widely regarded as contenders to reach the latter stages of the competition, such as the quarterfinals.
However, he believes this lack of expectation could work in their favour, allowing his side to approach matches with less pressure and potentially surprise stronger, more fancied opponents.
“Nobody expects Panama or South Africa in the quarterfinals or whatever,” said Broos.
“And this is maybe an advantage for us also, that we can make a surprise, that we can be surprising for the opponent, that they don’t know really how strong we are.
“And again, what I said in the beginning, I’m very, very happy with those two games against Panama.
“It will help us a lot, certainly. And I hope that it’s the same thing for the Panama coach.”
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