South Africa’s coach, Hugo Broos, has dismissed claims that his team has regressed after their exit from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the last 16 against Cameroon on Sunday. The 2-1 defeat in Rabat marked the end of Bafana Bafana’s campaign, two years after they finished third in the previous AFCON tournament held in Ivory Coast.
“We are not going backwards. While some performances may not have met the standards expected of South Africa, that cannot be said for today’s match,” the veteran Belgian coach stated, emphasising that luck had not favoured his team against Cameroon.
South Africa had qualified from their group in second place, narrowly edging out Angola and Zimbabwe for two unconvincing wins, alongside a defeat to Egypt. “Sometimes luck is necessary; two years ago, we had it on our side. Today, that was not the case. We must thoroughly evaluate our performance in this tournament as we look ahead to the World Cup,” Broos added.
This will be South Africa’s first World Cup appearance since hosting the tournament in 2010. They topped their qualifying group ahead of Nigeria and will face co-hosts Mexico in their opening match on June 11, alongside fixtures against South Korea and a European play-off winner.
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