Broosing earful: Coach describes stern talk that fired up Bafana after flat first-half against Angola

In the build-up to Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign, coach Hugo Broos made headlines for negative reasons after expressing his disappointment with 20-year-old defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who arrived late in camp on the back of missing his flight from Durban to Johannesburg.

Those harsh words from a fortnight ago may have drawn the ire of some South Africans, but Broos’s stern team talk at half-time in their Afcon opener against Angola on Monday, 22 December propelled Bafana Bafana to all three points.

Goals from forwards Oswin Appollis and Lyle Foster in each half secured South Africa’s maiden opening match at an Afcon since 2004. The two strikes also extended Bafana Bafana’s unbeaten run to 27 games.

“We started the game very well. We scored a goal, and then suddenly we fell asleep and Angola came into the game [and eventually equalised],” Broos said. “We suffered, no one was pressing, there was no passion and we played very slowly. We felt a goal from the opponent coming. And it came.

“Maybe it was good that [Angola gave us a scare ] in the first 45 minutes. It was a good wake-up call. I don’t think it will happen again in the coming games.

“I woke the players up during half-time. My voice was a little louder than usual, hence it’s a bit rugged now. I made them conscious that if they carry on like this, we will lose the game. And you saw the reaction.”

Indeed, having begun with hunger and impetus, the South Africans eased off the accelerator and allowed the Angolans to dictate the tempo of the match. Against better opponents they might have suffered irreversible damage by the time Broos woke them up.

Asked to share his exact words to the players, and perhaps wary of the volcanic eruptions his recent honesty had caused, the Bafana mentor simply said, with a mischievous grin: “I do not want to tell you that.”

Pharaohs next

Next up for Broos and his charges is a much tougher assignment against a star-studded Egyptian outfit, on 26 December at 5pm South African time.

The Pharaohs boast the biggest player at the 2025 Afcon – Liverpool great Mohamed Salah. Manchester City attacker Omar Marmoush is another threat for the record Afcon winners. There are also locally based stars such as Al Ahly duo Mahmoud “Trézéguet” Hassan and Ahmed Sayed.

The Egyptians are also on three points in Group B after rallying from 1-0 down to defeat Zimbabwe 2-1 in their opener on Monday. They remain the favourites to top the group.

“We are very happy with the victory. Now we can go into the game against Egypt in different circumstances than if we had lost points,” Broos said.

“This is a tough tournament. Sometimes you also need a bit of luck. I am confident because I saw what I wanted to see in the second half [against Angola]. It was better football and the passion and aggression was back in our game. That makes me happy,” he added.

“For us the most important thing is to survive the group stages and go to the next round. Then we will see.” DM