Ngezana And Mbokazi are Likely To Start In The Crucial Nigeria Clash
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is set to start defender Siyabonga Ngezana alongside rising star Mbekezeli Mbokazi for the crucial FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria at Toyota Stadium on Tuesday.
Broos revealed he rested Ngezana for Friday’s win over Lesotho as a precaution. The defender was one of four players carrying a yellow card, and Broos was determined to prevent a suspension that would have ruled him out of the highly anticipated match against Nigeria.
“Before the game on Friday, we had four players who had one yellow card,” Broos explained.
“You know before the game on Friday we had four players who had one yellow card,” said Broos.
“It was Khuliso [Mudau] but Khuliso is not with us. It was Ngezana, it was Aubrey [Modiba] and it was [Lyle] Foster. So, we couldn’t put them all on the bench as the precautionary of the game on Tuesday [vs Nigeria], we couldn’t do it.
“So, we took a little risk with Foster as a striker, normally strikers as strikers don’t normally get yellow cards. And with Aubrey that was a risk, but everything went well.
“And also, Ngezana had a yellow card, so that is why I put him on the bench because I didn’t want to let them play and get a stupid yellow card.
“So that should mean that he was not able to play on Tuesday. Again, we took some precautions on Friday, and it went well.”
Coach Broos Criticizes Poor Pitch Condition
Broos also expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the state of the Toyota Stadium pitch, calling it “stupid” to think he was happy with the playing surface.
The pitch, which has a visibly sandy and brown appearance, was damaged by hosting the COSAFA Cup in June and a recent rugby match.
Nigeria’s defender, Calvin Bassey of Fulham, was also perplexed by the pitch, questioning how a World Cup qualifier could be played on a “rugby pitch.”
“I said already before that I’m not happy with the pitch either,” said Broos.
“They were people who were blaming me that I didn’t want to play here, this is stupid. The pitch is not what we want to have. It is true that all the qualifiers that we played here were in good pitches, but this one is not so good.
“There is no reason why we play here against Nigeria because the pitch is not good. This is nonsense. We like also to have a good pitch like we had before.
“But it’s not like that and we have to do it with the pitch on Tuesday because we also played in this pitch on Friday and that was not our choice, it was Lesotho who was the home team.
“But it’s not that bad. But, okay, it is both teams. We have to play the game on Tuesday and that’s all.”
In the African qualifiers, only the group winners automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA. The four best-placed runners-up will get a second chance via a play-off round.
