South Africa coach Hugo Broos has said he hopes his team qualify for the 2026 World Cup at the expense of group rivals Nigeria after they finished third at the AFCON earlier this year.
Bafana Bafana have not qualified for the Mundial since they made history as the first African hosts of the tournament in 2010.
Tonight’s clash in Uyo is crucial for both Nigeria and South Africa after Benin threw Group C wide open with a 1-0 home win over leaders Rwanda.
Bafana Bafana are now third in the standings with three points, while the Super Eagles dropped to fourth along with Zimbabwe and Lesotho, who both do battle later today.
Broos said his team now need to build on the steady progress they made at the last AFCON by making it to the 2026 World Cup.
“Being qualified for big tournaments like AFCON and the World Cup is very important for [South Africa]. You saw what happened after our third place [finish] at AFCON,” Broos said.
“Suddenly everyone was ‘Wow South Africa’. It’s important for South African football but also for the players. Suddenly there’s interest [in our players], so it’s very important again now after the performances in AFCON that we qualify for the World Cup.
“If we don’t then that puts us back again where we started, six, seven months ago, that’s why it’s important and we believe in it and know that we’re able to do it because we have a quality team.”
He added: “I said when the draw was made you have Nigeria as one of the better teams in Africa but also tricky games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe. Normally, when you see the quality, everyone says yes [we should beat them], but it’s our neighbours. It’s a challenge and always different. There are tricky games.
“However, if we can achieve the level of AFCON, we will qualify for the World Cup again and for me, and for all South Africans, we must qualify after so many years and after a good performance in AFCON, to qualify for the World Cup.”
