South Africa flew out to North Africa on Wednesday, where they were reunited with the bulk of their overseas-based players as final preparations for the continental showpiece gather momentum.

Bafana wrapped up their domestic build-up on Tuesday with a narrow 1–0 victory over a second-string Ghana outfit at Dobsonville Stadium. While it was far from a vintage performance, the friendly served its purpose, especially with several of South Africa’s key players rested or unavailable.

Broos admitted the outing against the Black Galaxies was not exactly the tune-up he had hoped for, but insisted that heading into AFCON on the back of a win is far preferable to any other result.

In terms of overall preparation, the Belgian is satisfied with where his squad finds itself, pointing out that Bafana still have valuable time on the training ground in Morocco and are, in fact, slightly ahead of the curve compared to some of the tournament heavyweights.

“We are already quite far in our preparation, and the finishing touches will come towards the end of the week,” said Broos.

Bafana Bafana versus Angola in the COSAFA Cup final in Bloemfontein. Photo: Morgan Piek

“We can’t complain when you see teams like Cameroon, Morocco and Senegal only really starting now because their players were not released by their clubs.

“We’ve already had a full week of training, and even though there are four players we can’t count on, I will never use that as an excuse if we don’t perform at AFCON.”

Looking ahead to their Group B opener, Broos was quick to stress that Angola, known as the Palancas Negras (Black Sable Antelopes), should not be underestimated. The 73-year-old rates them highly but remains firmly confident in his own squad, which has proven its credentials against stronger opposition in recent months.

Helman Mkhalele and Hugo Broos. Photo: Morgan Piek

“Angola are a good, very technical team, and with a new coach there is always that extra motivation from the players,” Broos added.

“We know it will be a tough match, but I believe in my team and in what we’ve already achieved. We’ve beaten better opponents than this. We must be confident, play at our highest level, and understand that even a narrow win would be a very good result.”

Broos, who is coaching at AFCON for the final time in his illustrious career, acknowledged that Bafana will no longer be flying under the radar. He is comfortable with the added pressure but expects his side to deliver when it matters.

Bafana Bafana versus Zimbabwe during the COSAFA Cup in Bloemfontein. Photo: Morgan Piek

“We start this AFCON with a very different status compared to two years ago, and the pressure will be higher when we play Angola on Monday,” he said.

“But this team has shown it can handle pressure. We proved that in the World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and Rwanda. I’m confident we will be ready, even though teams will approach us very differently now.”

Bafana Bafana’s opening AFCON clash against Angola takes place in Marrakech on Monday, with kick-off scheduled for 19:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport