Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has suggested that South Africa is now counting on Nigeria to beat the Benin Republic in their final Group C 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
According to Broos, a victory for Nigeria would benefit South Africa to top the group if they also beat Rwanda in their own encounter.
The 73-year-old Belgian spoke after South Africa played a 0-0 draw with Zimbabwe in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Durban on Friday.
The result leaves South Africa in second place in Group C on 15 points – two points behind leaders Benin Republic.
But Broos’ side are ahead of Nigeria with a point as the Super Eagles sit in third position.
The Bafana Bafana now have to rely on Nigeria to defeat Benin next Tuesday if they want to secure top spot in the group.
“Yeah, this is not good, also that we don’t have the result in our favour either, but what can I say? I can’t blame my team, I can’t be angry, I’m just very disappointed that we could not score the goal that we needed [against Zimbabwe],” Broos told SABC Sport.
“We have to play again like today and try to win that game and see what happens, if everything is like it has to be, maybe Benin losing in Nigeria and with the goal difference, I don’t have a good view of that, but we just have to go for the victory against Rwanda and see what happens.”
