Bafana secures AFCON qualification without kicking a ball

The national team arrived in Kampala, Uganda, on Thursday ahead of their AFCON qualifier against the hosts on Friday when word reached the camp about developments in South Sudan that would have implications for Group K.  

The Sudanese pulled off a stunning feat by beating Congo Brazzaville 3-2 in another group match on Thursday, a result that enabled both Bafana Bafana and Uganda to qualify for the tournament while sitting in their respective hotels in Kampala.

Broos’ charges can now go into their qualifier against the Ugandans at the Mandela National Stadium on Friday safe in the knowledge that they have secured back-to-back qualification for AFCON.

However, coach Hugo Broos said they would still go full throttle in the matches against Uganda on Friday, and against South Sudan in Cape Town on Tuesday.

“We want to win the game. We want to win to end top of the group and that means we have to beat Uganda. So (qualifying) does not change anything for us. I hope that it will be a nice game and a good game. It will be a full house, and there will be a lot of atmosphere inside the stadium. This is motivation for the players, and let us hope that the best team wins today,” he said.

Captain Ronwen Williams echoed Broos’ sentiments, saying the team wants to finish the year on a positive note. 

“We have had a wonderful year, a successful year, so we want to keep building on that. It is going to be a tough one (against Uganda), but we are excited. The week has been amazing. We have got some of the players back who have been injured, and that is good. 

“We lost some of our players (due to injury), and we will be playing on their behalf as well because they have been on this journey with us. It has been a long journey, and we are proud of our achievement getting to AFCON back-to-back.”