A triumphant Hugo Broos pointed to the unwavering belief and character
of his squad as the driving force behind Bafana Bafana’s successful
qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking after the decisive 3-0 victory over Rwanda, which, coupled with
Nigeria’s 4-0 thrashing of Benin, secured South Africa’s top spot in Group
C, the elated coach shared the credit with his players.
“It feels wonderful,” Broos told SABC Sport. “We all knew that we could do
it, we believed in ourselves and I think you saw it from the beginning of
the game that we wanted to win.”
He acknowledged the perfect alignment of results, stating, “Nigeria did what
they had to do and we did what we had to do, so we’re going to the World Cup
– fantastic.”
Broos reserved special praise for the squad’s mentality, a quality he has
carefully cultivated over his three-year tenure. He emphasized that his
team-building philosophy transcends age and is rooted in character.
“You know, the age doesn’t matter, it doesn’t. It’s the talent, mentality
and this is something also with the young players today,” Broos explained.
“They have the right mentality and have the talent and then you can make a
good team. I think we did that in the last three years.”
Highlighting the strategic evolution of the side, he added, “We changed
players and every time it was the right choice. So what happened today was
work from three years now.”
With a ticket to the 2026 World Cup secured, Broos now sets his sights on
the immediate future, declaring, “I think the future looks very bright for
South African football. So let’s do a nice and good AFCON in December, and
then we go to America.”
