Hugo Broos braced for tough Angola clash in AFCON opener | OneFootball

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Broos wary of Angola threat

Photo: Hugo Broos

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos is not taking Angola lightly ahead of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group B opener in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday.

South Africa beat Ghana B side 1-0 in their final warm-up match, while the Palancas Negras recorded a dominant 4-1 victory over Mozambique in their send-off game.

With the curtain raiser looming, Broos is wary of the threat posed by Angola, including the new manager bounce that could come into play.

“I saw Angola playing in the qualifiers and I don't know anymore against which team, they played at home. They lost the game 1-0 but if they play that game 10 times - they win nine times,” said the Belgian mentor.

"So, it's a good team, you can be sure and there are some good players, it's very technical and now with the new coach - a new coach is always giving something extra to the players - they want to prove themselves. So, that means we will have a tough opponent next week on Monday.

Though the 73-year-old tactician anticipates their COSAFA counterparts to give them a run for their money, he exudes confidence in his team's capabilities to claim Angola's scalp.

“But on the other side, I believe in my team and I believe in what my team already did in the past. We beat already better opponents than that, so that means we don't have to be afraid of that, we have to be confident in ourselves,” Broos added.

"But they will not give us presents, we will have to play on our highest level and winning against them is enough, we don't have to think 2-0, 3-0 - winning itself will be a very good result for us.

The other teams in Bafana's group are neighbors Zimbabwe, and record seven-time African champions Egypt, with the continental showpiece set to commence on Sunday, 21 December.