Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has challenged his charges to secure all six points in their two back-to-back matches against Congo Brazzaville in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. 

South Africa, who are in second place in group K, level on four points with Uganda at the summit of the table, will square off against the Congolese on home soil at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday, before traveling to Brazzaville for the return leg on Tuesday, 15 October. 

Following a slow start to the qualifiers where they needed stoppage-time goals to salvage points against Uganda and South Sudan last month, Broos has expressed his unhappiness with his team’s performance. Now, the Belgian mentor has made a demand to his players, stating that the mandate is to collect all the six points in the upcoming double-header to place themselves in a better position to qualify for the continental showpiece in Morocco. 

“We have to prepare the team very well so that we have a six on six, ” Broos said. “I want to avoid the stressful month of November, if we have six on six we are qualified, if we don’t, then maybe the two games against [South] Sudan and Uganda can be tricky.”

Broos is eager to avoid the ghosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers where Ghana advanced to the African World Cup play-offs ahead of Bafana Bafana on the finest of margins at the top of the group on goals scored thanks to a controversial penalty. 

“Remember two years ago, the last game in Ghana, we had enough with one point, but we lost, ” recalled the 72-year-old coach. 

“So, let’s avoid that situation. If we have to go to Uganda in the last game and we have to play there not to lose, this is a very tricky situation. 

“So, that’s why I want a six on six, and I want to see the real South Africa, we didn’t see the real South Africa in our last two games. I was not happy with the performance, I was happy with the results. 

“Little bit less happy when I speak about the result against Uganda because I wanted to win that game, so we won but two times we were lucky. So, our performance was not what I expected, and I want to see another South Africa in the two games that are in front of us.”

 Broos has urged his troops to up the ante as he believes they can collect all the maximum points if they approach the encounters with a winning and positive mentality of dominating the opponents throughout the two-legged tie. 

“Therefore, I will talk to the players and I want to see another South Africa against Congo – South Africa that shows confidence and dominates and this is what I want to see on Friday and if we can achieve that I’m sure we can also achieve a six on six, ” he reiterated.