Broos urges Bafana to be bullish against Nigeria

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has entreated his troops to play without fear against Nigeria in the World Cup qualifier, insinuating the Super Eagles won't underestimate them.

Bafana and their perennial foes Nigeria will trade blows in the 2026 Group C World Cup qualifiers fixture at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo tomorrow night (9pm SA time). Bafana, who left local shores for Nigeria on a chartered flight yesterday, will then host neighbours Zimbabwe in what will be their fourth game of these World Cup qualifiers at Free State Stadium on Tuesday (6pm).

Broos has sounded bullish about Bafana's chances of beating Nigeria, urging his players to be courageous in Uyo. The Belgian is also drawing confidence from Bafana's last meeting with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Senegal early this year, where they held the Super Eagles to a 1-all draw before losing on penalties in the competition's semifinals. Bafana ended up returning home with bronze after beating Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the third-place play-off.

"Nigeria were finalists at the Afcon and they have players who are playing in the best competitions in Europe, but we saw what we can do against them at Afcon. If we had a little bit of luck, we would have beaten them and went to the final. I think we were the best team in the semifinals, so we don't need to be afraid of Nigeria,'' Broos said.

"We know all about them but they also know all about us. I think they will not start the game with the same mentality they had at Afcon because they know how strong we are."

After two rounds of fixtures in Group C, Bafana find themselves second on three points, one behind leaders Rwanda. Broos' men earned the three points by beating Benini at home back in November last year, before they were stunned by Rwanda away three days later.

Broos targets at least four points from the two upcoming matches against Nigeria and Zimbabwe. "We want to win both games but if that doesn't happen, we must at least get four points to keep our qualifying hopes alive,'' Broos noted.