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South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has hailed the mentality of his players following their 1-1 draw against Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
South Africa maintained their impressive record of not losing a game inside the Godswill Akpabio Stadium following the draw in Group C matchday 3 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Friday.
Themba Zwane gave South Africa the lead in the first half before Fisayo Dele-Bashiru equalised.
Following the draw, the Eagles are yet to record any win and occupy fifth place on three points.
The South Africans had travel inches on their way to Nigeria but still managed to earned a share of the points.
Reacting to the outcome of the game, Broos said: “I have to congratulate my players. As you know or you don’t know, we had a terrible travel to Nigeria on Wednesday.
“Considering difficulties we passed through coming, I would say the players did an extraordinary job.
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“We were only in bed at two o’clock on Thursday morning. So we were 20 hours on the way. And when you see the mentality in the team today, then I can only be proud about my players.
“We arrived here at about 2am Thursday morning and of course, there was fatigue amongst the players. Yet, they were able to tenaciously hold their ground, despite the intensity of the match. That was because they know why we’re here.
“When you put together these things, and the fact that a point against Nigeria in Nigeria is not an easy result, I say, its a good result, for us, and the Super Eagles.”
Broos and his team would feel lucky after referee waved away a penalty appeal by the Super when a defender hauled Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.
The Belgian said it’s time FIFA introduced VAR in the qualifying stages of the World Cup.
“Not having VAR at this stage is not the best because we know that a single goal can determine a team’s fate in a game,” he said.
“And FIFA should do well to get VAR into the qualification campaigns.”
The 72-year-old Belgian admitted completely that the gap between the so-called big teams and the supposedly small teams has closed.
South Africa will be back in action next week when they will take on Zimbabwe while the Eagles will face Benin Republic on Tuesday in Côte d’Ivoire.
By Sab Osuji in Uyo
6 Comments
Your three man attack in the first half really worked but in the second half, Finidi decoded and neutralized you threat.
The only confidence your team has is because they play in the CAF champions league otherwise we no be mate.
Even luckier Bashiru was injured for a deserved penalty
There was no VAR for such high stakes match? That tackle on Bashiru was a penalty and the high up stud tackle on Onachu by a south African player was a straight red card offense.
The officiating was glaringly abysmal, the referee should be suspended for poor performance really.
Thee wouldn’t have been worry about qualification if our players take their chances.
Where are the dead ball takers?
Why did our players sleep in the first half.
We still lack quality ball crossers.
Really missed Moses Simeon in the match.May be he could have complement the effort of the attack.onuachu Paul could not really hold play upfront and his transition was very slow.All the same, they manage to get a draw which is fair enough
I love everything about your comments, it shows you guys watched this match.
African referees are suspects when it comes to Nigeria involvement.
What I saw yesterday was a total oversight from Finidi, it happens when you don’t measure players by body language but club association. Watch Tanimu, Yusuf, and Bassey. They were strong and tough.
In the reverse fixture, if Finidi use our home base in the team with strong instructions victory will be our song.
African Referees are the worst . Who gave that idiot a Badge .
That’s the worst officiating I have seen in recent times . Caf knows what they are doing though .