Coach Hugo Broos has expressed confidence Bafana Bafana of South Africa will beat the Super Eagles to an automatic ticket to the 2026 World Cup as they have improved remarkably.
South Africa are in the same Group C with Nigeria, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho as the qualifying series begin in November.
The Super Eagles stopped South Africa from the 1994 World Cup.
Broos, who has been in charge of South Africa since May 2021, said the team have made great progress under him and so the target will be top spot of this group.
“I think it is possible for South Africa to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup first in the group,” he said.
“If you see the progress we have made in the last two years, you cannot compare those qualifiers (for the 2026 World Cup) with the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. We are better now, we have a better team now.
“So okay, I am confident.”
However, Broos cautioned that results from away games will be crucial in a group he described as “tricky”.
“The away games will be very important in a group like ours, but now a little bit more because we have five difficult away games for different reasons,” he warned.
