Chiefs coach vows to ‘fix existing problem’ during AFCON break

Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef has acknowledged the glaring issue plaguing the club and confirmed that the upcoming 2025 AFCON break presents the ideal opportunity to address it.

The statement follows Amakhosi’s frustrating 0-0 draw against TS Galaxy in the Betway Premiership at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday afternoon, which marked the Soweto giants’ final official PSL fixture of the 2025 calendar year. The result was Chiefs’ second successive goalless stalemate, following a similar score line against Chippa United last Wednesday.

Chiefs’ last two results underlined their ongoing struggles in front of goal, a problem that has proved costly this season. Currently sitting in the Betway Premiership top five, Chiefs are the lowest-scoring team, netting only 13 goals in 13 matches.

With the CAF AFCON tournament starting later this month, the PSL schedule is paused until January 2026, giving Ben Youssef and the technical team crucial time to work on their most pressing concern: goal-scoring.

The 2025 AFCON tournament will be staged in Morocco and kickoff 21 December and conclude on 18 January with nations set fight for the contiental title.

The Goalless Frustration For Chiefs

While Chiefs have been creating chances, Ben Youssef admitted the conversion rate is a serious worry, though he remains pleased with the team’s overall performance.

“I think both games [against Chippa and Galaxy], we said the same thing [about failure to convert chances created]. The most important thing is the performance of the team,” said Youssef.

He stressed that dominating games is not the problem: “We dominated in both games and created a lot of opportunities, but we have the same problem in the last third. We are unlucky not to score.”

The coach confirmed that the imminent break will be used for intensive remediation. “But now we have this break [AFCON] to fix this problem and to think about how we can continue [moving] forward.”

Trust in the Performance

Despite the dropped points, Ben Youssef expressed overall satisfaction with the team’s recent play, stating that good performance is the foundation upon which the club must build.

“We are so happy about the performance of the team in the last few games. I think the team performed very well. But we are all frustrated about missing points because we are not scoring the opportunities we get,” he noted.

He concluded by reinforcing his belief that strong performances will eventually yield results: “When the team is performing well, we don’t have to be scared. But when the team is not performing well, that’s a real problem for us.”