South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has urged his players to maintain focus ahead of their matchday seven encounter against Lesotho in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Afrosport reports.
Group C leaders Bafana Bafana face Lesotho at the Toyota Stadium on Friday before hosting Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the same venue four days later in what a heavyweight showdown.
While most of the attention is already centred on the highly anticipated clash with Nigeria, Broos has warned that underestimating Lesotho’s Crocodiles could jeopardise their qualification hopes.
The Belgian tactician stressed the importance of approaching the game with full commitment if they are to avoid costly setbacks in their bid to return to the World Cup for the first time since 2010.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the 72-year-old said: “First of all, let’s start with Lesotho. I don’t want to think about Nigeria for the moment,” the 72-year-old stated. “I have seen their games in the past and that’s enough for me for now. We will start focusing on them after the game with Lesotho.
“At this moment, the most important thing is the game against Lesotho. We must get a victory against them because if we fail to do that, we will have more troubles in the future.”
South Africa have collected 13 points from their opening six qualifying fixtures, winning four of those matches. With four games still to play, they hold a five-point advantage over Rwanda and Benin Republic, while Nigeria trail by six points.
The South African Football Association is still awaiting the final verdict on their offence for fielding an ineligible player in the reverse fixture against Lesotho. Broos is aware that any slip-up at this stage could prove damaging to their ambitions of securing a place at next year’s finals in North America.
