Bafana begin tune-up with Namibia friendly
South Africa will begin their tune-up for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and next year’s Africa Cup of Nations when they face Namibia in an International Friendly, set for the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on the afternoon of Saturday 9 September 2023.
Kick-off is at 3pm CAT.
Bafana Bafana were last in competitive action in June of this year, securing a 2-1 home win over Morocco in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, before a locally-based ‘A’ team participated in the Cosafa Cup in July, where they ended third.
Coach Hugo Broos believes his team has progressed steadily since humbling defeats at the hands of Morocco and France in the first half of 2022.
“Right now, we have that core of players who know what I want and that is very important. They have the right mentality, there is a good mix of old and young,” said the Belgian tactician.
“We still have to be better in the future because in November there are very important difficult games [World Cup qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda] and I don’t speak about Afcon. I know what it is, it’s very tough. So, we still have to increase our level.
“But I think if you compare this team now with the team two years ago. There’s a very big difference on every level. So, I’m very happy now with the quality we have with the level. But we’re still going to work to become better.”
Namibia, meanwhile, completed their Afcon qualification campaign in June with a 3-2 loss away to Burundi – a result which means they will only know for sure whether they will play at the tournament in Ivory Coast next Tuesday, when three-team Group C is completed with a clash between Cameroon and Burundi.
The Brave Warriors were also present at the Cosafa Cup in July, but endured a winless tournament and
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