Hugo Broos reflects on Bafana Bafana’s impressive 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign

South Africa head coach, Hugo Broos, has praised his team for their professionalism and focus during the final qualifiers for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, especially after securing their place in the tournament.

In an era where teams sometimes relax once qualification is assured, Broos was quick to emphasize how his squad stayed sharp and determined, refusing to follow the trend of teams who, already qualified, lost momentum in their final qualifying matches.

Bafana Bafana showed their intent with a dominant 3-0 victory over South Sudan at Cape Town Stadium on the last day of qualifiers. This win ensured they finished top of Group K with 14 points, ahead of Uganda and Congo.

The result marked a perfect conclusion to Broos’ unbeaten campaign in the group stages, as his side showed no signs of complacency, despite already booking their place in next year’s AFCON.

“First of all, I have to congratulate my team for the performance. Not only for the performance but also for the mentality this team showed throughout the entire 90 minutes. During the pre-match meeting, I showed them a few results of teams who were already qualified, but they lost their game, Tunisia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso. They all lost their last games. I asked the players not to spoil the party and that shows again the mentality that we have in that team,  those guys are hungry. Those guys know how to take their responsibility. They couldn’t disappoint the big crowd – and they didn’t,” Broos told CAFOnline.

The Belgian coach stressed the importance of finishing the qualifiers strongly, ensuring that his team stays sharp ahead of next year’s AFCON challenge in Morocco.

“From the first minute, we played good football, it was a high tempo. We had chances during all the game. I think we made people happy and this is something that is very important too. So more and more we win supporters over. There’s a big difference from two years ago when there were 2000 or 5000 people coming to see our games.

“And the people are coming because when they come to the stadium, they see something and this is what we always wanted to do and now we are able to do it because we have a good team,” Broos said.

Broos’ success in the qualifiers has reinforced his vision for Bafana Bafana, with the mix of youth and experience making the team a strong contender on the continental stage.