Hugo Broos eyes Zambian win to lift Bafana Bafana’s ranking

Speaking to the media on the first day of their international week camp in Johannesburg, Broos says the 3-0 loss they suffered against Lesotho in the boardroom has affected their rankings, and they need to rectify that.

Bafana play Chipolopolo at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday afternoon, and Broos maintains that this is a must-win game.

"For me, friendly games don't exist. Every game we have to be focused and concentrated, and that will not be any different on Saturday."

"I want to win because it's important for our ranking, we want to solidify our place in the top ten and retake 9th position after what happened in the Lesotho game."

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For the next FIFA World Cup draw on the fifth of next month, in the US, the world rankings will be key in determining the placement of the 48 teams according to their pots.

The latest camp has started with some confusion for Bafana Bafana, as they were forced to change their hotels from Roodepoort to Sandton.

This also meant that they had to change their training venue from Dobsonville Stadium to Ellis Park Stadium.

With Themba Zwane injured, Broos’ current squad lacks a traditional no.10, and he has been using someone like Sipho Mbule in that position in recent games. He was asked today if he aims to continue like this, or if he could tweak his game plan to suit this.

"We have to be prepared for anything, and this is one of the things we will work on during our preparations for the tournament."

Looking back at the last AFCON tournament in Côte d’Ivoire, Broos says that tournament taught them the importance of having a variety of approaches going into matches. The 2017 AFCON-winning coach with Cameroon, says this is part of their priority now.