South Africa coach Hugo Broos has said he is happy his team got off to a winning start in their quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Bafana Bafana beat Benin 2-1 in Durban Saturday to go top of Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which also has the Super Eagles, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho.
“Sure I’m happy because we won the game, it was not an easy game,” Broos said after the match.
“I said already before the game, ’don’t underestimate the opponent’. They played a simple game, kick upfront and then fight for (second) ball.
“We had some problems in the second half with the goal they scored, there was a little panic in the group, but okay the most important thing in the qualifiers is to win the game and we did it.”
Before the match, the brash Belgian coach made clear his target for Bafana Bafana to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
“For you South Africans it’s 12 years since you last qualified for the World Cup…in 2010 but it was a little present for you because you organised it,” he said.
“It’s time that SA qualify again for such a big tournament.”
On Tuesday, South Africa will be guests of Rwanda, while Lesotho welcome Benin in South Africa.
