Hugo Broos makes huge Bafana, Cameroon AFCON claim | OneFootball

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Broos on Bafana, Cameroon stint

Photo: Hugo Broos

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says the work he has done with the South African national team has surpassed his exploits with Cameroon.

During his stint with the Indomitable Lions, the Belgian mentor won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2017, beating record-seven time African champions Egypt in the final.

Broos then consolidated his credentials as he steered Bafana to a third-place finish with a squad comprised of mainly local-based players, in the previous edition in Ivory Coast two years ago, which he believes pips his Cameroon stint.

“If I'm honest I think what we did with South Africa was better than what I did with Cameroon. We built a team here and that team progressed day by day and then you go to AFCON, you have ambitions but you never think that one moment you should have the opportunity to play the final,” said the Veteran tactician.

"The first time I think 95% of the group, for them it was the first AFCON they played. So you don't expect that but the progression we made was enormous. Cameroon was a team that was used to be in the AFCON, they were seen as one of the favorites to win AFCON.

"So, it it was a little bit different and the pressure was also much higher in Cameroon, so I think what we did with South Africa, being third in the previous [edition], again now two times in a row we qualified for AFCON and qualified for the World Cup - I didn't with Cameroon.

He continued: "We won AFCON and four months later we were out of qualification so Nigeria went to AFCON. So for me I am more happy with the work I did here than with the work I did with Cameroon because you can expect that with Cameroon when you go to AFCON and I don't think that everyone expected us to play the semi-finals two years ago.