Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is wary of the danger posed by a stubborn Benin side ahead of the two teams’ meeting in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium on Tuesday (18:00).

Broos’ charges head into the encounter with 10 points at the summit of group C after claiming a 2-0 victory over Lesotho thanks to maiden Bafana goals from Relebohile Mofokeng and Jayden Adams last week Friday in Polokwane.

Meanwhile, the Cheetahs are in second place with eight points collected after dropping crucial points against Zimbabwe at Moses Mabhida Stadium, where they blew a two-goal cushion to goals from Marshall Munetsi and Knowledge Musona to share the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

Now, with the top-of-the-table clash looming, the 72-year-old tactician is anticipating a tough encounter against the West African nation led by the experienced German mentor Gernot Rohr. 

The Bafana boss called on his troops to punch above their weight to walk away with maximum points.

“I think we are ready for the game; we played a good game on Friday against Lesotho – a very difficult game. And we know that we have another difficult game again. Benin is a good team; they only played a draw on Friday, and they are only two points behind us,” Broos said.

“You know World Cup qualifications in Africa are very difficult; you can never tell that you’ll win a game before you play it. You have to fight for every meter, every ball and every point, so the game against Benin won’t be any different – we are playing against a very good team, we know that.” 

However, Broos expressed utmost confidence in his players’ capabilities and ability to walk away with a favorable result, stating that they are drawing inspiration from their progress over the years and what a potential win could mean for their World Cup hopes.

“But on the other side, we are confident in ourselves, I think when you look at the progression of South Africa in the last year it’s enormous, so we are confident. We think we can make a good result, and we will try to win that game,” he added.

“As I said before, this playday can be a key day. Imagine if we win, Benin is at five points [behind us], Nigeria is already at four points, and we will see what will happen in the other games. So, it can be a key day, and we will do everything we can to win that game, but we also know it will be very difficult.” 

It remains to be seen whether Bafana will consolidate their qualification ambitions with a win as fourth-placed Nigeria will host bottom-placed Zimbabwe in Uyo, while third-placed Rwanda will entertain fifth-placed Lesotho in Kigali at the same time.