‘We have to be sure the people who maintain the pitch really know what we want,’ said the Bafana head coach.
Hugo Broos says Bafana Bafana must do due diligence and make sure they have a suitable pitch for their final 2026 Fifa World Cup Group C qualifier at home to Rwanda next month.
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Bafana’s 1-1 draw with Nigeria on Tuesday was played on a poor surface at the Free State Stadium, which Broos had expressed his dissatisfaction with long before kick off.
Bafana’s Broos – ‘We also need a good pitch’
“I think on Monday a Nigerian journalist asked me a question like we did it on purpose and played on such a bad pitch,” Broos told reporters after the draw had put Bafana ever-closer to qualifying for next year’s finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
“Believe me, I was here 14 days ago, and I don’t want to repeat what I said to the people in charge of this pitch.
“We also need a good pitch. We tried to play (today) and we did for the first half an hour. But when you play an opponent like this on such a pitch it is very difficult.
“Next time we have to be careful when we choose our stadium. We have to be sure the people who maintain the pitch really know what we want. It was never a problem in Cape Town, in Gqeberha or in Polokwane, so for the next game we have to choose the right pitch.
“Even for us today it was not an advantage for us to play on that pitch against that opponent.”
‘I want to go to America next year!’
Broos was involved in a bit of a touchline spat with Nigeria coach Eric Chelle in the second half of Tuesday’s game. The Bafana coach, however, simply put it down to the heat of the moment.
“Those are the emotions of the game,” said Broos.
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“Sometimes when I see pictures I say ‘what am I doing?’. I tell myself ‘come on guy!’. But you are tense and nervous.
“We got two yellow cards and Nigeria got one. That is not normal. All those Nigeria players went to the referee to complain, I also reacted. I didn’t have to do that, I know that. But what do you want? I want to win! I want to go to America next year!”