Mokoena Extol Broos For Creating Brotherhood In Bafana Camp
Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena says Hugo Broos has done a great job in uniting the players in the national team and the results are there for everyone to see.
Broos, who joined Bafana Bafana in May 2021, led Bafana Bafana to qualify for the AFCON 2023 in Ivory Coast which was delayed this year and they managed to win at least the bronze medals for the first time in 24 years.
Bafana has again qualified for the 2025 AFCON that will take place in Morocco, the first time they will feature in back-to-back African premier tournaments, becoming the first coach in South Africa’s national team history to do so.
Mokoena has praised Broos for creating a great family environment in the national team. “I think he [Hugo Broos] built a strong group, we are united, we are a family, we are friends and we are brothers,” Mokoena said.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from and whatever happens at a club level stays at club level. When we get here we are one family. I think that’s what he did when he arrived here on the national team.
“For me, I think he gave me that freedom, he gave me that room to be free. Even at the club level, I’m myself, I enjoy my football, that’s all it is important and also we are winning and we are making the country proud.”
Bafana Bafana, who qualified for the AFCON 2025 without kicking a ball on Thursday and beat Uganda 2-0 on Friday, is leading in Group K with 11 points. As Bafana set to face South Sudan at DHL Stadium on Tuesday in the last game of the AFCON qualifiers, Mokoena said that they want to finish as the log leaders in their group.
“As a team, we want to finish on top because it will prepare us for qualifiers for the World Cup,” the former SuperSport United player said.
“We haven’t topped the group I think in a while, so it will also help our mindsets that we need to also top the qualifiers for the World Cup.
“So, I think it’s very important for us to for the rankings and also for the draw for the AFCON because it plays a huge role. If you saw our group this year in AFCON it was very tough, we had Tunisia, we had Mali. “So, at least when you are in the top 10 you are part of the top two and that’s better.”
Bafana Bafana is second in Group C of the FIFA World Cup African qualifiers. They have seven points alongside the log leaders Rwanda and Benin who are in third place.
These three nations are separated by the goal difference in their group. Bafana will be back in action in March next year when the World Cup qualifiers resume.
