Broos warns of ‘tough’ South Sudan as Bafana seek AFCON win

Hugo Broos says Bafana Bafana expect a difficult match against a strong opponent when they take on South Sudan on Tuesday in a Group K 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Juba Stadium (kick off 3pm).

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‘Dedicated’

“We will have tough game tomorrow,” Broos told the pre-match press conference in Juba on Monday.

“We have watched South Sudan in their last three games against Togo, Sudan and Congo. We know they are an aggressive team.

“I don’t mean that in a negative way, they are very dedicated. And and the game will be on a synthetic pitch, that is not what we are used to. We expect a very difficult game.”

Bafana have an extra need for all three points, after the disappointment of a 2-2 draw at home to Uganda in their opening qualifier on Friday.

“You never know if you will win a game, if it is against South Sudan, Nigeria, or whoever. The game against Uganda was difficult, but normally we would win that game,” added Broos.

“Uganda didn’t have so many chances and their second goal was a mistake from our goalkeeper. We had three, four or five other chances to score.

“We will see how the game goes and try to win again.”

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The heat is on

Broos is confident his team will cope with the heat in Juba, with the temperature expected to be around 35 degrees centigrade tomorrow afternoon.

“The weather is the weather, we can’t change it,” added Broos.

“It will not be the first time we play a game at a high temperature. We did it in the Ivory Coast also (at this year’s AFCON finals), against Mali and Tunisia it was also hot.”

It remains to be seen how many changes Broos makes to his team from the Uganda match. Goalkeeper Veli Mothwa’s place must be under threat after his mistake against Uganda, while there could be a number of outfield changes after the Bafana coach said his team was not sharp enough against the Cranes.