Bafana Bafana of South Africa coach, Hugo Broos, has said the target for his team is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup at the expense of the Super Eagles.
Both teams are set for a Titanic battle on June 7 in Uyo in continuation of the World Cup qualifiers.
This will be four months after both teams played out a pulsating AFCONE semifinal in Cote d’Ivoire that had to be decided by a penalty shootout.
The vastly experienced Belgian coach, who led Cameroon to win the 2017 AFCON and got South Africa to semifinals of the competition in February, said he is confident Bafana Bafana can emerge from a “tricky” group that also has Rwanda, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Benin.
“We’ve made much progress in the last two years, and the results are there; now we want more. When you’re a sportsman, you want more. So we want to go to the World Cup,” a very confident Broos told SABC when he announced his final squad for the clash against the Super Eagles.
“It will not be easy, because when you look at the group, it’s maybe not a strong group, but it’s a tricky group because we have Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and, all the countries around South Africa.
“So, it will be not easy, and certainly with Nigeria too. But I think we have confidence and belief in ourselves because of the performances of the AFCON.
“We will see in the next year where we stand, but the mission is to go to the World Cup certainly.”
South Africa are second in Group C with three points, a point ahead of Nigeria, who have two points, same as Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Rwanda top the standings on four points, while Benin are bottom with a point.
