South Africa coach Hugo Broos ignored the wave of criticism and calls for his dismissal following the team’s exit from the Africa Cup of Nations, turning his full focus to preparations for the 2026 World Cup.
The Bafana Bafana missed out on quarterfinals after falling short to Cameroon in the last 16 of the continental showpiece.
Bruce and his players arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning, after being knocked out of the tournament, being held in Morocco.
“When you have a lot of wins, there will always be people against you, and those people start talking when you lose, and that’s what’s happening now.”
“I have nearly 40 years of experience as a coach dealing with these things, and I know they happen. People get frustrated and start talking about everything.”
“I know these things are happening now, but in two weeks everything will be forgotten and we will start all over again.”
The Belgian coach revealed the outlines of the next phase, as he prepares to return to his country for rest, before starting serious preparations for the World Cup scheduled for June.
“I think we should now do a good analysis of what has happened over the past four or five weeks, and see what can be improved in the coming months, and certainly before the World Cup.”
“I now want to return to my family, so I will travel to Belgium on Saturday, but I will return to South Africa in February. While I am in Belgium, I will begin to analyze and study what we need to do in the coming weeks, so that we can be stronger at the World Cup.” Bruce told SABC News.
South Africa will begin their World Cup campaign against Mexico on June 11, then face the winner of the European play-off scheduled for March, before concluding their Group A matches against South Korea on June 24.
