Bafana Bafana is now ranked 60th in the world rankings – the 11th highest in Africa.
For a team that is fourteen games unbeaten – seven wins and seven draws – it surprised many when the FIFA world rankings dropped them one place.
However, this shouldn’t bother fans too much, as South Africa is in strong contention to qualify for the AFCON and World Cup for the first time in over a decade.
Is Hugo Broos the right man for the job?
Bafana Bafana playmaker Teboho Mokeona believes Hugo Broos is taking Bafana Bafana to new heights, telling SportsBoom.com, “I’m quite confident that we have turned the corner.
“This team went to the Afcon and came out third. The boys have been winning games. Right now, the boys have raised the bar and have shown that they are hungry for support just as much as the Springboks do,
“They have shown people that they can win games and also entertain in the process. We are now at the stage where we have the whole country behind us, but we know that we have to win the Afcon and qualify for the World Cup again.
“We are now getting back to being the best in Africa or one of the best in Africa.”
However, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi believes he should take better care of his side after losing Themba Zwane to injury during the international break, telling SABC Sport, “The truth is, we all know the quality of the players and they are going to help us – we don’t have any problems with them, we have resolved whatever minor issues we may have had.
“But each man for his own family. We must take care of our spaces, nobody says anything when he [Broos] plays eight defenders, we keep quiet because it’s his choice, and I respect him.
“I respect him as a coach, he has done very well for the country, everybody is excited that he got a bronze [medal at AFCON], so he must understand that we have a responsibility to manage our own squads, just like he is managing his squad.
“The report that we got about Themba is that it’s a partial rupture, which could be around 3-4 months, but clinically they had said it’s a grade three, but I think we will get better feedback this afternoon because he’s going for surgery,
“So the possibility is [that he will be out for] between four to six months.”
Do you think Bafana Bafana should be ranked higher?
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