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Bafana Bafana Coach Hugo Broos.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has dismissed the notion that South Africa are among the favourites to win this year’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco. Broos says the hosts, and the usual suspects from West Africa, are contenders to win the title this year.
Bafana’s first goal is to start the tournament with a win when they take on Angola in Marrakesh on Monday evening.
The moment of truth has arrived for coach Hugo Broos and his boys. This year’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament is an opportunity to prove that winning the bronze medal in the Ivory Coast last year was no fluke.
Their campaign starts with a Group B match against the tricky Angola on Monday evening – a match Bafana have targeted as a must-win. But the coach is under no illusion, saying this year’s tournament will be tougher than the previous edition in Ivory Coast.
“Saying this will be a tougher tournament than the last AFCON, but I promise you one thing, all the big teams will be in the next round. Morocco will always be the firm favourites playing at home. You will always have many teams from west africa. Let’s have a good start and see how things go as the tournament progresses,” says Broos.
VIDEO | Bafana Bafana Coach Hugo Broos and Captain Ronwen Williams brief the media ahead of AFCON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5yz3a2VWUc
‘We want to win’
But captain Ronwen Williams believes Bafana will be on the radar of the other teams. They have the experience with 10 players having featured in Ivory Coast, while their recent run of success would not have escaped the opposition.
“We have stood against the best teams in Africa in recent years. We managed to beat Morocco, we never lost to Nigeria recently. We must redouble our efforts if we want to win the Afcon. It’s not gonna be easy, but we have to show that we are a capable side. A lot of teams have started noticing Bafana Bafana after a good run of 26 games without a loss,” says Williams.
Angola will be a stern test. They have players who ply their trade for big teams across Europe, and they are playing in their third successive AFCON tournament.
And their new coach, Patrice Beaumelle, who is an experienced campaigner in Africa, will be desperate to end Angola’s winless run against South Africa.
“Statistics don’t mean anything in football. We don’t just want to beat South Africa, we want to start the tournament on a winning note. This is not only about South Africa. The Afcon is a long tournament, which is a month long. It is not only about Bafana Bafana, but we have two other games against Zimbabwe and Egypt,” says Beaumelle.
The outcome of the first match will not determine the teams’ destiny, but can set the tone for the rest of the tournament.
The game against Angola is a big milestone and marks Hugo Broos’ 50th game with Bafana Bafana. This will be the second Afcon tournament in a row for Bafana Bafana’s longest serving coach.
VIDEO | AFCON 2025: William confident as Bafana Bafana target AFCON glory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqa1OILZvcc
