‘We know them well but we are confident,’ said the Bafana head coach.
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos is well aware of the “amazing” players that Group B opponents Egypt have.
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But his side understandably still believe they can give the Pharaohs a run for their money when the two teams meet in Agadir on Boxing Day.
Broos – ‘We all know what kind of team Egypt is’
“We all know what kind of team Egypt is,” Broos told the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
“They are seven-time AFCON winners with amazing players like (Mohamed) Salah and (Omar) Marmoush. We know them well but we are confident and looking forward to playing the game tomorrow.”
The improvement Bafana have shown since Broos took over as head coach in May 2021 is remarkable.
Under the wise hand of the experience Belgian head coach, Bafana finished third at the last AFCON, including stunning Morocco 2-0 in the last 16.
They then qualified for both this Africa Cup of Nations and the 2026 Fifa World Cup. The last team to beat Bafana, indeed, was Mali in the opening match of the last AFCON. Since then Bafana have gone 26 matches unbeaten (they lost the AFCON semifinal to Nigeria, but defeats on penalties are classified by Fifa as draws).
And Bafana have done this largely with a team made up of locally-based players, used to giving as good as they get against sides with Europe-based stars.
Bafana opened up the current AFCON in Morocco with a 2-1 win over Angola in Marrakech. Egypt also started with a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe, making Friday’s game one that could well end up deciding who finishes on top in Group B.
‘A very important match’
“It was very important to win the first game,” added Broos.
“We didn’t want to be in a situation where we started the Egypt game with a knife at our throats, having to win.
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“That doesn’t mean we don’t want to win. If we win tomorrow – it is the same for Egypt – we qualify for the next round. So it is a very important match for both of us. If we could win it would be a very good thing for us to play our last game against Zimbabwe without pressure.”
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