South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has called on his team to replicate their impressive display from last week when they take on Panama in their second international friendly in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Despite failing to secure a win in Friday’s encounter, Broos expressed satisfaction with his side’s overall performance and is eager to see a similar showing against what he described as a strong opponent.
“We played a very good game on Friday. We want to confirm that tomorrow again against a very good opponent, so I think we made the right choice to play against Panama two times,” Broos said during Monday’s pre-match press conference.
“It was a good test already Friday, and again, tomorrow, I expect a tough opponent, a good opponent also.
“So, it’s all right for the preparation, because that is the main goal of those two games (against Panama) …. preparation for the first game in the World Cup, in Mexico, against Mexico, in two months’ time.”
The Belgian tactician revealed that all 23 players in the squad are fit and available for selection, with some changes expected to the starting lineup compared to the previous game in Durban.
Broos highlighted his satisfaction with the team’s improved mentality and discipline, areas he had previously identified as concerns following a disappointing outing at the Africa Cup of Nations.
“First of all, I think the way we played and the performance of Friday, I was very satisfied about it.
“As I said already in the past, our Afcon in December was not that good for various reasons.
“So I wanted to install a little bit more mentality and discipline in the team.
“And I think we succeeded on Friday. I was happy with the performance. I was also happy with the mentality.
“I was happy with discipline. I was happy with everything, except a few things in the game.
“We had a debriefing this (Monday) morning, and players know there were a few details that we have to try to do better.
“At the other hand, I was also very happy with the crowd on Friday because that was for me also a little question mark because the reaction of the fans after Afcon was not so positive … and it was normal that they were not positive ….
But, yeah, the South African people were again there in the stadium, and it will be a full house tomorrow (Tuesday).”
Looking ahead, Broos emphasised the importance of facing Panama as part of preparations for their opening World Cup match against Mexico.
He noted similarities in playing style between the two Central American sides, making the fixture particularly valuable.
“Absolutely, otherwise we wouldn’t have done it. I know that there are many similarities between Panama and Mexico.
” I think, and that’s true, that Mexico is maybe a better team than Panama, but okay, we have to prepare ourselves and we play against a Central American team because the style and the way they play is a little bit different than all the opponents we had in the past years. It was only African teams we’ve played against.
“So, therefore, those two games are very important, and I was also happy that we could play two games against them.”
Broos also provided insight into his World Cup squad planning, revealing that a large portion of his selection is already settled, though a few spots remain open ahead of the tournament.
“Everything depends a little bit on the shape of the players.
“Maybe in the next weeks, they will not play anymore in their teams, or pick up injuries, or that kind of thing.
But for 70, 75 per cent of the selection is already in my head and will not change. Not even if tomorrow we play a bad game. But there are still some positions that I want to decide on in the next weeks before I make my choice.”
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