Hugo Broos shuts door on extra friendlies before AFCON

South Africa will meet Angola, Egypt and Zambia in Group B, with Broos expected to confirm his 23-man squad in the first week of December ahead of their pre-tournament camp in Tshwane. 

Asked whether he would consider squeezing in more fixtures following the 3-1 win over Zambia in Gqeberha at the weekend, the coach dismissed the idea as unnecessary.

"No, we will play one game [against Zambia], I don't like to play two or three games before we go – we played enough against African teams so we don't have to play against another African team as if we don't know African football," said Broos.

"We've played, over the last four years, nearly only against African teams, so we don't have to play another two or three games before we go to AFCON, we don't need that.

"It will be a little bit different next year when we prepare for the World Cup – that is something else, and the preparations will be different as well.

"But now we just try to have a good preparation and [makes sure] that the team is really at 100 percent when they start, and that we don't start like we started the last AFCON with a defeat."

Broos highlighted that he already has his mind wired on their AFCON opener against Angola in Marrakesh.

"I want to win that first game because that gives you a lot of advantage in a tournament, certainly in a group phase, when you win your first game," he added.

"That was something we didn't do [in 2024], and then we had to win the second game and then there was still a question mark for the third game, so we will try to avoid that by already winning our first game against Angola."

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