Broos Slams Bafana Defence: We Will Be Punished

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was far from pleased with his side’s defensive performance against Zimbabwe, warning that if they continue to play like that, tougher opponents will punish them.

Bafana Bafana battled their way into the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 after edging Zimbabwe 3-2 in a tense final Group B match in Marrakech on Monday.

It was far from smooth sailing, but for now they will not mind, having achieved their primary objective of reaching the knockout stages for the second consecutive tournament.

However, significant improvement will be required in the knockout rounds, where much tougher opposition awaits. South Africa could face the runners-up from Group F — Ivory Coast, Cameroon or Mozambique — in Rabat on Sunday.

“We made the same mistakes as in the previous games,” said Broos after the match.

“The passing was not right and players were no longer taking up the correct positions. That allowed the opponents to be dangerous. If you look at the first goal, the player ran past three or four defenders without a tackle, without any of us doing anything.

“If we defend like this, we will concede in every game, and that has to stop because it puts us in trouble. It was the same in the second half. We dominated the game, had control of the ball and scored, then suddenly we started doing things we didn’t need to do. We couldn’t keep the ball anymore, started playing too centrally, losing possession and giving Zimbabwe chances to play in transition.

“In the duels and second balls, we were in trouble again. The second goal from Zimbabwe came with a bit of luck, but the player was still alone in front of Ronwen Williams.

“I can’t be happy with that because football is not only about attacking and playing offensive football; it is also about defending, and defending well. That is a problem for us at the moment.

“We have to address it in the coming week. We must put it right and start playing for clean sheets again, because that used to be one of our strongest points, but now it has become a weakness.

“We have to work on it, because if we continue giving chances to our opponents, it will be very difficult to win against the next teams.”

Despite it being the first-ever meeting between South Africa and Zimbabwe at AFCON finals — although the teams have met several times in qualifiers and regional competitions such as the COSAFA Cup — Bafana Bafana were pegged back twice by Zimbabwe.

South Africa eventually sealed the win late in the game after Marvelous Nakamba handled Mohau Nkota’s shot in the penalty area. Oswin Appollis kept his composure from the spot to score the decisive third goal for Broos’ men.

It is the first time Bafana Bafana have reached the AFCON knockout stages in back-to-back tournaments since 2002.