Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos plans to do a thorough plumbing job to prevent his team from leaking goals when they resume their 2025 Afcon qualifiers with back-to-back contests against Congo.
Though Broos’ team conceded only three goals and scored seven in as many matches en route to the memorable 2023 Afcon bronze medal finish in Ivory Coast, Bafana have resembled a sieve and shipped in 10 goals in the last six matches [four draws and two wins].
The Belgian is determined to tighten the screws and deal, starting with the first clash against Congo on Friday night at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Gqeberha, with the return leg in Brazzaville on Tuesday.
A win in the Windy City could move them to the top of Group K on seven points. Bafana currently share top spot on four points with Uganda, who are +1 goal ahead.
Injuries have contributed to Bafana’s defensive vulnerability, forcing Broos to change his central rearguard pairing three times in the last six matches.
With Mamelodi Sundowns defender Mothobi Mvala having suffered a long-term injury after helping Bafana beat Zimbabwe 3-1 in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Bloemfontein, Bafana have looked shaky at the back in the last two Afcon qualifiers.
Their frailties were laid even more bare when they missed skipper and reliable goalkeeper Ronwen Williams through injury against Uganda and South Sudan last month.
You know, when you talk about defence, it’s not the defence... it’s the way we defend. This is not the same anymore compared to what we did before (at Afcon) and that’s why we’ve conceded so many goals
— Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos
While Williams’s return for the Congo games will restore stability, Broos still has to find a new partner for Rushwin Dortley, the Kaizer Chiefs left-footed centre-back who featured alongside Siyabonga Ngezana in the last two outings.
With the Romanian-based Ngezana dropped because of injury, Broos can opt for either Nkosinathi Sibisi, Thabiso Sesane or Grant Kekana to partner Dortley or field a completely new pairing.
“You know, when you talk about defence, it’s not the defence... it’s the way we defend. This is not the same anymore compared to what we did before (at Afcon) and that’s why we’ve conceded so many goals,” said the Bafana coach.
“We need to look at the other part of football, look at how we defend. We have to be determined and aggressive. You don’t have to give time and space to your opponents. We did it (before) because we only conceded three goals at Afcon.
“So we can do it, which means we were a little lazy in the previous games. We have to go back to our standard and restore that in our game. In the last six games, we’ve let in 10 goals. That’s too much and it means we must score in each and every game to win. With the last game we had to score three to win 2-3 against South Sudan. That’s not easy.”
Broos said the best way to fix the defence is to attack, keep the ball and not give space and time to the opponents.
With the defence sorted Broos has no doubt that Bafana can qualify for next year’s showpiece in Morocco with at least two games to spare.
“You know it’s very simple, if we beat Congo in both matches, we’ll qualify for Afcon. We need to try to win two times and it’s possible because Congo is not a physical team.
“Congo is more of a technical team, which tries to play football. They will defend, they’ll fight, surely. It won’t be easy [in the return leg] because in Congo again we’ll play on an artificial pitch, which is not the best in the world. We need to fight there to win that game.”
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