Online Reporter
BAFANA Bafana could seal a return to the World Cup with victory over the Warriors next month.
Coach Hugo Broos was delighted with how his players were able to show fight in a physical contest against Nigeria which ended in a 1-1 draw last night.
The hosts threatened victory in the high-tempo clash from an own-goal by William Troost-Ekong, but Calvin Bassey showed up and denied Bafana the chance of early qualification.
Although, with the next round of qualifiers scheduled for next month, Bafana will officially seal a spot at next year’s showpiece with a win over Zimbabwe.
“It was a match like I expected, physical match much harder from the opponent, it’s only in the second half when they tried to win the game with power football, but we did a very good game also.
“We had the power in our teams also, we fought for it and I said before the game we will try to win but if it’s a draw then I’m happy also and I’m happy,” Broos told SABC Sport.
“The only thing I said this afternoon also on the pre-match meeting, I said if you can’t win with good football you have to do it with fighting and this is what they did.
“They fought in the second half for every ball, every metre and there were guys that were really dead but still they sprint.
“But I always said this is a group who wants to go to the World Cup and today was a crucial game. It was a draw.
“It’s up to us now to win one game than we have qualified,” he added.
Africa’s 2026 World Cup qualifying window continued Round 8 matches with decisive results across five groups inclduing Kenya’s 5-0 hammering of Seychelles and shock away wins for Niger and Rwanda.
Morocco and Tunisia have already booked their ticket to the 2026 finals, but the scrap
for the remaining automatic places − and the four best runners-up spots for the play-off − remains fierce.
Kenya blew away Seychelles 5-0 in Nairobi to record their biggest win of the campaign
and keep themselves in the conversation behind the front two.
Ryan Ogam set the tone with a sharp finish inside seven minutes before centre-back
Charles Sichenje doubled the lead on 35 minutes from a set piece.
Ogam struck again three minutes later and Michael Olunga converted a penalty in first-half added time to make it four at the break. Olunga swept in a fifth on 67 minutes to cap a dominant display. − Sports Reporter/KickOff.com/CAF
