Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos FILE - Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos. Photo: Sia Kambou/AFP
Bafana Bafana players will get another chance to impress head coach Hugo Broos when they face Algeria in a friendly international on Tuesday night.
Broos’ team are in Algeria as part of the FIFA Series international friendlies pilot project. The match at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers will kick off at 11pm.
Last week, a much changed line-up featuring some young and fringe players could only manage a 1-all draw against lowly Andorra.
Thursday’s clash in Algiers will be Broos’ last opportunity to look at untested players ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and Zimbabwe in June. It will also be a clash against a side short in confidence.
Usually one of the continent’s top side, Algeria have had a rotten time of late. Earlier this year, they exited the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast in the group stages.
While South Africa will need to be at their best, Algeria will have the luxury of being able to experiment with the next round of World Cup qualifiers approaching.
Broos’ men will have the daunting task of having to go to Nigeria to get a result, while Algeria have a much easier tie against Guinea.
The Belgian was also keen to see his team pick up wins in order to improve their rankings.
Bafana are currently ranked 58th in the world, their highest ranking in the last nine years.
“We need victories to keep our ranking. But what is more important is that in two months, we play Nigeria and Zimbabwe (in World Cup qualifiers), so no excuses any more, we have to do a good result. So, there will be a lot of changes,” Broos said on the weekend.
“If you compare Andorra with Algeria, there’s lots of difference in quality. We need to put our best team on Tuesday. We cannot afford to experiment again,” said the Belgian.
“Also, players who did not play on Thursday will not be tired, and they will be fresh to play.”
IOL Sport
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