Bafana Bafana and Nigeria shared the spoils after a 1-1 draw in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers clash in Uyo on Friday evening.
The visitors dominated play for large parts of the first half with Themba Zwane having scored in the 29th minute but the Super Eagles cancelled SA’s lead through Fisayo Dele-Bashiru just one minute into the second half.
Hugo Broos’ troops are fourth on the table with four points, while the Finidi George-led team is in position five in the Group C standings with three points.
Following the entertaining encounter, here, Footballblogzz provides you with reactions by the two coaches.
Broos happy with draw
Bafana tactician Broos was full of praise for his players and thanked them for the effort they put in.
“First of all, I think that the result is correct. A draw. We had our chances, Nigeria had their chances,” Broos said after the match, per iDiski Times.
“But I have to congratulate my players. As you know or you don’t know, we had a terrible trip to Nigeria on Wednesday.
“We were only in bed at two o’clock on Thursday morning. So we were 20 hours on the way and when you see the mentality in the team today, then I can only be proud of my players”.
A fantastic first-half
Broos has admitted that his side struggled towards the end of the match but was happy with how they played in the first 45 minutes.
“It was a tough game against a good team but in the first half I think we played fantastic football, we had some chances, we could have scored 2-0. And maybe then the game could have been done,” said the Belgian mentor.
“It was a little bit unlucky from our side that after two minutes, in the second half, we received the goal. And then you know that it will be difficult.
“But again, we fought for it from the 46th till the 95th minute. And again, I think the result is correct.”
George not happy with a point
The Super Eagles mentor, George was naturally disappointed following a 1-1 draw with Bafana at home.
“We started sloppily in the first half, we took over the game immediately and we scored in the second half. We missed chances, overall it was not a bad second half for us,” he said, per OgaNlaMedia.
“The players reacted well in the second half, it is not the best result we wanted, we have to get our heads up and work for the next game against Benin Republic. I am not happy about the point.”
