It will be a personal battle for Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos when they face Uganda in their African Cup of Nations qualifier at Orlando Stadium tonight at 6pm.
South Africa kick off their road to Morocco 2025 in their Group K opener tonight as firm favourites to keep alive their unbeaten record against Uganda’s Cranes.
The scorecard reads three wins and a draw for Bafana Bafana in four outings.
But Broos, 72, knows things won’t be as easy this time around and is preparing for a ‘Battle of Belgians’ when he and countryman Paul Put, 68, lines up opposite each other on the ‘chess board’.
The Uganda coach is well known on the African continent, after having coached countries like Gambia, Kenya, Guinea, Congo and Burkina Faso.
Put is also a controversial figure and in 2008 was banned for three years by Belgium football for his alleged involvement in a match-fixing scandal.
Broos, meanwhile, says of Uganda and his direct opponent: “You can’t always win a game by playing good football and maybe that is such a game. I know the coach very well, because he is from Belgium. He’s a good coach.”
The Bafana Bafana coach adds: “It will not be an easy game, but if we can find the right mentality and we have shown before under difficult circumstances that we can come up with that mentality to win such games…
“I’m expecting also that we can find solutions if we can’t win the game by playing good football, and that is by fighting…”
Of exactly what makes the Cranes such a dangerous side to play against, Broos explains: “They are strong, tall and play with heart. They have good individuals within the team and we have to play on our level…”