Football fans who are still frothing at the mouth after the early exit of Bafana Bafana from the Africa Cup of Nations should perform some reality checks. Up until the disappointment of crashing out to Cameroon, the consensus was that Hugo Broos was just what the doctor ordered and that this is a greatly improved team. The loss, disheartening as it was, is no reason for supporters to demand Broos’s head.
For one thing, five months before a Fifa World Cup is not the time to change coaches. As the team start their build-up to the world’s premier soccer contest, which kicks off on June 11, what they don’t need is the fracturing of team spirit that disruption of the leadership would cause. The hard truth is that Bafana Bafana will have to punch well above their weight to get out of group A at the World Cup in June The hard truth is that Bafana Bafana will have to punch well above their weight to get out of group A at the global showpiece.
They face co-hosts Mexico, who are ranked 15th in the world, South Korea (22nd) and possibly Denmark (21st). Bafana Bafana are 61st. We should be mindful that of the eight last-16 matches in Morocco, in only one did a lower-ranked team emerge victorious — Mali, who beat Tunisia on penalties.
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South African players need to score goals. Norwegian Erling Haaland is the leading scorer in the English Premier League with 20 goals, England’s Harry Kane heads the Bundesliga on 19 and Frenchman Kylian Mbappé is top in La Liga with 18. The top scorer in our PSL, on seven goals, is Sede Junior Dion from the Ivory Coast.
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