BROOS SAYS BAFANA WILL BE THE FINISHED ARTICLE AT AFCON

BAFANA Bafana are far more experienced and better prepared to avoid stage fright or sukkeling to live up to their “dark-horses” tag at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The squad flew out to Morocco on Wednesday, where they will be based in Marrakech. They arrive not simply to make up the numbers, but to compete for the title and end a 30-year trophy drought.

They have been hard at work at the University of Pretoria High Performance Centre since assembling for camp following the suspension of the domestic season last week.

Their preparations culminated in a friendly in Soweto on Tuesday, where they beat Ghana 1-0.

Coach Hugo Broos was pleased with the result but not entirely satisfied with the performance, having started the match with a fringe team.

Bafana have also enjoyed lekker success over the past two years, including finishing third at the last Afcon, qualifying unbeaten for Morocco, and securing entry to the 2026 World Cup.

Broos, fully aware that the tournament will present a sterner test than two years ago in Ivory Coast, remains unfazed.

Broos said: “This team has experience So, I am not worried about that. But we will feel and see that opponents will play in a totally different way than they did two years ago.”

Broos has not trained with his full squad in recent days, as Sphephelo Sithole, Lyle Foster and Shandre Campbell are only expected to join the team in Morocco after being released late by their European clubs.

The Belgian coach was not concerned: “We are far ahead in terms of our preparations. The finishing touches will be done by the end of the week.”

Bafana begin their Afcon campaign against Angola on Monday.