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South Africa’s head coach, Hugo Broos, has stated that his team’s focus would shift to preparations for the upcoming World Cup.
Bafana Bafana’s campaign ended in the last 16 on Sunday after a 2-1 defeat to Cameroon in Rabat, a result that contrasts with their third-place finish at the previous Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.
“We are not going backwards,” the veteran Belgian coach said after the match. “Maybe in some games our performances were not at the level people expect from South Africa, but you cannot say that about today.”
Broos maintained that luck played a decisive role in the loss to the Indomitable Lions, arguing that fine margins often shape tournament outcomes.
He recalled South Africa’s narrow quarter-final win over Cape Verde at the last AFCON, when goalkeeper Ronwen Williams produced a crucial save that kept their campaign alive.
“Sometimes you need luck on your side and two years ago in the quarter-final against Cape Verde Ronwen Williams made a big save, otherwise we could have lost that game.”
South Africa progressed from their group in second place behind Egypt, recording tight victories over Angola and Zimbabwe before losing to the Pharaohs. While their overall performances were mixed, Broos stressed the need for a thorough review rather than sweeping conclusions.
“In the next days and weeks we will make an evaluation in detail on what was good and not good and we will see what we have to change because the World Cup is in six months and we need to be ready for that,” Broos said.
Bafana Bafana have qualified for the World Cup for the first time since hosting the tournament in 2010, topping their qualifying group ahead of Nigeria. They will open their campaign on June 11 against co-hosts Mexico, before facing South Korea and a European play-off winner in the group stage.
Preparation for the finals in North America will begin with a series of friendly matches in March.
