World Cup Qualifiers: South Africa strong enough to beat Lesotho – Broos

South Africa national team coach Hugo Broos has called on his players to focus and concentrate when they take on Lesotho in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Friday.

After playing against Lesotho, Bafana Bafana will return to action against Nigeria on September 9, Tuesday. Ahead of the two fixtures, Broos believes Bafana have what it takes to carry home six points.

“We are still strong enough to beat Lesotho, but again, we have to focus and we have to concentrate,” he said as quoted by SAFA media. “We have to reach our level best, and we have to fight.

“Playing a good game of football is okay when we can do it, why shouldn’t we do it, but let’s start from the first game, from the first minute and fight for every second, for every square metre on the pitch and try to win that game. It would be a very good situation for us if we could win the game on Friday.”

Following the injuries to Ime Okon and Patrick Maswanganyi, Broos has been forced to recall midfielder Sipho Mbule and defender Thabo Moloisane.

Bafana are currently topping Group C with 13 points after six matches and they are followed by second-placed Rwanda and Benin, who are both on eight points. The Nigerians are fourth with seven points followed by Lesotho (six points) and Zimbabwe (four points).

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