Broos Braces For “Painful” AFCON Selection
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is bracing himself for a difficult decision as he prepares to announce the final 23-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
Bafana Bafana are set to kick off their AFCON campaign on 22 December against Angola in Marrakech, followed by matches against Egypt on Boxing Day and Zimbabwe on 29 December.
Broos is determined to lead his team to success in the tournament, which will run from 21 December to 18 January. The final 23-man squad is expected to be announced in the first week of December.
With a strong squad and a clear understanding of what he wants from his team, Broos is confident that Bafana can make a statement in Morocco.
The 1996 African champions will be looking to build on their bronze medal finish in the last edition in the Ivory Coast, where they lost the first game against Mali in the group stage.
“I was already thinking about the day that I announce the 23 players, it won’t be easy, certainly for certain positions it will be very difficult.”
The Belgian tactician gave some players who hadn’t featured prominently in the past a chance to showcase their skills against Zambia in a friendly match on Saturday.
While he’s satisfied with their performance, he’s not entirely convinced.
“What happened on Saturday is that you give playing time to players who didn’t play so much in the past to see how they will react, how they are adapting to the team tactics, to the team playing again. I am satisfied, not 100%,” Broos said.
Despite the uncertainty, Broos was pleased with the players who came in during the second half and believes they could be useful for AFCON.
“Still, I wanted to see what I saw on Saturday, and I think those guys that came in the second half we can use in the future, maybe for AFCON,” he added.
One player who caught Broos’ eye was Khulumani Ndamane, who showed promise despite being a little hesitant at times.
“Ndamane was a little bit hesitant, but you saw him playing the last game against Rwanda [in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers]; he was very good,” Broos noted.
The Belgian mentor knows that selecting the final squad will be a tough task, given the number of talented players available.
“Again, what I know is that what was so easy two years ago is now very difficult to do because we have more than 23 players who can go to AFCON and deserve to go to the
AFCON,” he stated.
“But the decision will be made by me, and some of them will maybe be painful for the players, also for me, because it’s not a good thing to drop a player.”
