Bafana Bafana are set to face FIFA World Cup champions France amongst two friendly fixtures as preparation for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
South Africa have been inactive since their controversial defeat at the hands of Ghana that dumped them out the 2022 World Cup qualifying play-offs in November.
But head coach Hugo Broos has confirmed to Sunday Times that they are set to face Les Blues and Zambia in two games in March when the preliminary games for Ivory Coast 2023 begin.
“We are playing March against France and I think against Zambia after that,” Broos said. “Those are the two matches to prepare us for the [2023] Afcon qualifiers in June. You are playing against the world champions.
“Strong opposition give you proper preparation. Even if you lose the games it is not a train smash. You can learn a lot of things and get an indication of where your team is at. Immediately you will see where the weaknesses are.
“Such games tell you the distance the team has covered. They give you something more. Maybe that is what we needed and didn’t have for the qualifiers of the World Cup. We didn’t really play tough matches.”
The preliminary draw for the next AFCON took place this week in Cameroon with 12 of the lowest-ranked teams in Africa set to battle it out in two-legged affairs before the official group stage draw.
AFCON preliminary draw in full:
- Eritrea v Botswana
- Sao Tome and Principe v Mauritius
- Djibouti v South Sudan
- Seychelles v Lesotho
- Somalia v Eswatini
- Chad v Gambia
