Liberia head coach Ansu Keita says if Hugo Broos is confident about qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, there’s 90 minutes in Monrovia that will be the judge.
Keita has been bullish since the first moment he stepped in South Africa, which was his first senior international match as head coach since being promoted from the U17 squad.
And with the Lone Stars securing a historic point in their 2-2 draw at Orlando Stadium coming back from two goals down, it appears confidence is sky high amongst the squad.
“The coach, it’s a coach that I respect a lot… if he sounded confident, of course, all coaches should sound confident,” Keita said in the pre-match press conference.
“If he described our first goal as once in a moon, I would say that’s football and I could describe his goals but I will not go there as I respect him, I respect his time.
“But I think he sounded like this before and the result we saw in South Africa, so if he still sounds confident, I will tell him that 90 minutes, I repeat 90 minutes will judge the two teams tomorrow.”
Keita said if they managed to secure a point away from home in a nervous display, he feels the sold-out Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex tomorrow will make an ever bigger difference.
There’s a lot more at stake for Bafana and the future of South African football in this fixture after the U23 squad failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations and Olympics.
“We learned a lot about South Africa, we’ve worked towards it and we think tomorrow we’ll be better,” he added.
“I respect them a lot but there wasn’t [fear] in the first leg, we went for it but trust me, we went for a win, but getting a draw was good for us,” he added.
“It was part of our plan, coming back home, gives us a 50/50 chance, South Africa is very good, trust me, but tomorrow 90 minutes will judge us.”
