Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says it wasn’t easy to admit he was wrong about Themba Zwane after his incredible return to the national team fold.
Zwane bagged a brace in the 4-0 win over Sierra Leone on Saturday afternoon at the FNB Stadium and looked his usual cool, calm and collected self amongst the new-look side – where six players made thier debut overall.
His double pivot of Luke Le Roux (22) and Sphephelo Sithole (23), both of who ply their trade in Europe provided a solid base for the likes of Mshishi, Kgaogelo Sekgota, Mihlali Mayambela and Zakhela Lepasa to enjoy themselves further forward.
While Broos admitted the friendlies were to build confidence, he’s hopeful the emphatic result doesn’t see any complacency creep in when they host Botswana at the same venue on Tuesday.
“I’m a happy coach today, not only because we won 4-0 but because after we lost our three last games, the negativity around Bafana Bafana was so big that we needed that today,” he said after the game at FNB Stadium.
“It’s not only the performance on the pitch, the chances we had, the goals we scored – so we won a lot of confidence today and this was fairly important, this was the goal before these two friendly games and I hope the team will do the same next Tuesday.
“It’s not enough, we are happy today but we [want] to be happy on Tuesday evening after the game against Botswana. I expect the same mentality, the same performance of what they did today.”
Broos feels Zwane, who’s 33 and goes against what he stated upon his arrival of fielding younger players, could be the missing piece of the puzzle in his squad, after unsuccessfully trying to find an attacking combination that clicks since his arrival in May 2021.
“I’m not a coach, who has special mentions for players but what Themba Zwane did today was great – maybe, hopefully, the missing link in our team,” the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winning coach said.
“The guy who can keep the ball, the guy who can give passes and the guy who can score, so I’m very happy with it – it took a long time but you know my philosophy, first of all, youngsters and then we will see.
“But then again everyone should appreciate a change of mind. This is not easy for a coach when he’s saying three or four months no, no, no and then suddenly… but okay, I’m not afraid to do that and Themba has shown he deserves his position in the team.
“So I’m very happy with the performance but I want to see the same thing next Tuesday.”
