Image: Segun Ogunfeyitimi/Gallo Images
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has commended his troops for executing the game plan well in their Wednesday’s goalless draw against Tunisia at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo, saying the team did all he had asked them to do.
Bafana’s scoreless stalemate against Tunisia, who are ranked third on the continent, proved enough to earn them a slot in the round of 16 of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast. Ranked 12th by CAF, SA finished second in Group E and will face the first-ranked side on the continent, Morocco, in the knockout phase at San Pedro’s Laurent Pokou Stadium on Tuesday (10pm SA time).
“I don’t have to tell you that there’s a very happy coach sitting behind this microphone. I am not only happy because we’ve qualified for the next round but I am also happy about the performance. The coach will always be satisfied when he sees his boys working and fighting on the pitch, doing what he’d asked,” Broos said at a press conference after the game against Tunisia.
Broos also praised the bench for supporting the soldiers who were on the field. “I am also very happy because I saw the bunch of guys on the bench doing as big as those on the field. They [the players who were on the bench] supported their teammates. Today I saw a family, a team, who’s just a unity.”
Broos chalked up their disciplined shift to the analysis they did on Tunisia, reasoning that they deployed a cautious approach because Tunisia were a bit well-rested than them after playing their last game on Saturday, while they played theirs on Sunday.
“We did a good analysis of Tunisia, so we played a little bit low and we tried to be very compact because we took into account that we had one day less for recovery than them. That’s why we chose that tactic and I think it was the right one. We were good in the block and Tunisia was nearly not dangerous all game long,” Broos stated.
