16.01.2026
Latest

I stuck to my guns to build a formidable side: Broos

5 mins



  • Bafana Bafana qualifies for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Bafana Bafana are headed to the FIFA World Cup final after an absence of more than two decades. South Africa last qualified for the global footballing showpiece when Korea and Japan co-hosted it back in 2002.

Fans celebrate Bafana 3-0 victory and qualifying for World Cup finals

Bafana edged out African powerhouses Nigeria and Benin in one of the tightest groups on the African continent.

The Hugo Broos led side beat Rwanda 3-0 in the final qualifying match in Mbombela last night to seal their place in next year’s tournament.

Broos says he had to stuck to his guns to build a formidable side.

“I know you did not always agree with the choices I made and I always said I use a different criteria than you do. For me it’s important to have a player with quality first of all, a player with the right mentality secondly and a player who can do what I ask him and till now I always succeeded in doing it. Even when you thought this one and that one needed a chance, this is not how you build a team. You need to plan and you need to keep your plan because you know this is the right way and this is what we did in the past three years.”

Broos says football will never be the same in South Africa. He was speaking after becoming the first coach to qualify the senior men’s team for two back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations tournaments as well as the World Cup.

“I heard somebody say everybody laughed with Bafana Bafana, we were a joke and now we are there we are on a high level and everybody respect us and this is not only the work for me. I think this is what this nation needed, a different way to look at football.”


Broos celebrates Bafana’s World Cup final qualification

Related News