South Africa’s Bafana Bafana have a stern test in their 2023 AFCON qualifying opener against Morocco on Thursday in Rabat but manager Hugo Broos stated his belief in the squad to obtain a positive result in his pre-match comments. Broos has been attempting to rebuild the South African team with a focus on younger players and the results have decidedly been mixed with the team’s failure to qualify for the final round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying as well as a notable 5-0 exhibition thrashing at the hands of France in late March. The Belgian waved off unrealistic expectations and criticism over the results but remarked that the matches will ensure his team are not intimidated in Morocco this week.
Broos provided an update on injuries and the status of players within his squad as well. Mamelodi Sundowns left back and free kick specialist Lyle Lakay looks set to replace the injured Terence Mashego in the starting lineup following a training ground injury suffered by the Cape Town City player. Following an injury suffered by regular starting goalkeeper Ronwen Williams while on club duty for SuperSport United, Broos confirmed he will be in training this week and between the sticks against Morocco.
