Menzi Magubane
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos got what he wanted, but not what the national team fans expected.
Bafana were held to a goalless draw by Guinea, who are ranked lower than they are.
Chances were there for Bafana to kill the match – especially in the first half.
Bafana are ranked 22 places higher than Guinea, who had a good Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) this year in Cameroon.
Bafana were not at the Afcon but still expected to win. Before this match Broos demanded his employers give his team better oppositions rather than the usual Botswana, Mozambique or Lesotho who are ranked even lower than Guinea.
Broos should be disappointed by his side’s display on Friday night.
Nonetheless, not conceding a goal away would give Broos encouragement ahead of their toughest opponents in France on Tuesday.
Bafana has played France twice before with each side winning one each.
France are currently the World Champions and the last time Bafana played Les Blues was in the 2010 World Cup, hosted in South Africa. Bafana won 2-1 in the last match of Group A.
Both teams didn’t make it to the next round but France, as much as this match may not mean anything to them, but to the fans of South Africa it meant a lot.
In the 1998 World Cup in France, Bafana lost 3-2 to Les Blues in the last match of Group A and that was Bafana’s debut World Cup.
Bafana will face France on Tuesday in a true test of just how much they have improved under Broos or where perhaps they need to improve.
Image source: @TimesLIVE
