BAFANA Bafana coach Hugo Broos says some of his troops must adopt the “mind over matter” approach when they start their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers on Friday.
Bafana will begin their bid to reach next year’s Afcon finals in Morocco with a clash against Uganda in Orlando on Friday (6pm), before visiting South Sudan next Tuesday (3pm).
Broos boasted yesterday upon the players’ arrival for camp that he has a clean bill of health so far, with 20 players arriving early in the morning.
Broos said he expected the Tunisian-based Elias Mokwana to arrive last night, while Siyabonga Ngezana and Sphephelo Sithole were set to land in SA from Portugal and Romania this morning.
However, not all is well for the Belgian. He is still reeling from the fact that some of his local-based players are not yet match fit, given that the Betway Premiership will only start this month.
Only players from the teams who finished in the top eight in the league last season have tasted competitive football this term after playing in the MTN8, while a few of those teams were also involved in preliminary round action in the CAF club competitions.
But while that could throw a spanner in the works of Broos’ set-up and preparations, he has urged his troops who lack match fitness to be mentally strong.
“We’ll certainly have to consider that when we select the team. I have already discussed it with Helman (Mkhalele, the assistant coach). So, we know what we must do for Friday,” he explained.
“It’s up to the players – those who are playing for teams that haven’t played a lot of intensive games. We need to find the right mentality and that’s up to the players.
“I know the players already, except for a few new ones in the group. I know that I don’t have to be bothered much about that. They have shown a strong mentality already in difficult situations.”
Broos has favoured Mamelodi Sundowns players recently, given their vast experience in continental football due to their regular CAF Champions League exploits.
But the Brazilians were not at their best in the MTN8. They won 1-0 via an own goal in the quarter-final against Polokwane City, before Stellenbosch beat them 2-0 on aggregate in the semi-final.
As such, Broos understands that a change of approach may be necessary against The Cranes.
“I have already said that you can’t always win games by playing good football, and perhaps against Uganda it will be such a game,” Broos said.
“I know the coach of Uganda (Joseph Paul Put) very well because he’s from Belgium. He’s a good coach, so it won’t be easy for us.
“But if we can find the good mentality – like we have shown it in very difficult situations – we can count on it when we need it in such games.”
And with Bafana favourites on paper to win the match, despite a lack of match fitness among their regular players, Broos has already done his homework on The Cranes.
“If we can’t find the solution by winning the game through playing good football, then hopefully we can go to our mentality – that is fighting,” Broos said.
“Uganda is a very athletic team, big guys with big hearts, fighting for every ball. It won’t be different on Friday. It’s up to us to compete against that as well.
“Quality-wise we are the better team but that won’t be enough on Friday. I am confident, though, that we can win games with a good mentality.”
Not all is lost for Bafana, though. While Broos would have loved to stick to his tried and tested players from Sundowns, he may have to select from Stellenbosch and Pirates.
The two sides are on form. They played five games apiece since the start of the season en route to the MTN8 final – in which they will meet on October 5 – and second round of the preliminaries in continental competitions.
“You saw in the Pirates players last Saturday that they were ready – they played on a high rhythm. It was also the same thing with Stellenbosch,” Broos said.
“Stellenbosch was ready for the game, and Sundowns wasn’t. So, we’ll also take that into account when we put our team together – similarly with the goalkeepers.”