Hugo Broos plays down expectations on Bafana Bafana against Nigeria – ‘Losing the game should not be a disaster’

Bafana Bafa resume their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers with a clash against Nigeria at Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Friday.

They then play another Group C match against Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

The match against Nigeria comes exactly four months after the two sides met in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

That Afcon clash ended 1-1 after extra time but Nigeria prevailed through a penalty shootout and they now collide again on the road to World Cup qualification.

South Africa coach Hugo Broos does not want his players to be under pressure going into Friday’s showdown as he plays down the importance of winning.

“We want to have a good result against Nigeria because this is a qualifier for the World Cup and we don’t think about revenge,” Broos said as per Times Live.

“Losing the game should not be a disaster because after that we still have six games to play. But I would rather not have a defeat to Nigeria.

“We know all about them but they also know all about us. I think they will not start the game with the same mentality they had at Afcon because they know how strong we are,” the Belgian added.

“We have to use our status of being the team that finished third at Afcon but at the same time we must stay humble. We still have to work, fight and produce the same mentality we showed at Afcon.”

While Broos has tried to take the pressure off his players by saying a loss to Nigeria will not be a train smash, this is a match they really need to get a result from.

They lost their last match to Group C leaders Rwanda in these qualifiers and were left second on the table with a point fewer than Amavubi.

A defeat on Friday would see Bafana being overtaken by third-placed Nigeria, a situation they would not want to find themselves in, playing catch up with both the Super Eagles and Rwanda with just four matches remaining after their outing against Zimbabwe.

Broos and his men left Johannesburg at midday on Wednesday heading to Nigeria where they will only have Thursday as the last day to prepare for the crunch tie.

The squad, however, assembled and started training on Monday in an effort to be ready for Friday’s showdown.