Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has shared his thoughts ahead of South Africa’s match against Egypt in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Afrosport reports.
South Africa opened their campaign with an entertaining 2-1 win over Angola on Monday, a game that could easily have gone either way. Oswin Appollis gave Bafana the lead in the 21st minute, only for Angola to equalise in the 35th through Manuel Show.
Lyle Foster’s late strike eventually secured the win for South Africa at the Marrakech Stadium in Ouahat Sidi Brahim.
Broos admitted that his team was below par in the first half but was pleased with their response after the break, giving him confidence ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Egypt.
“We tried to avoid a loss because if we had lost today, going into the game against Egypt, we would have been in big trouble,” Broos told SABC Sport.
“I wasn’t happy with the way we played in the first half. We led 1-0 but then fell asleep and let Angola back into the game.
“We made adjustments at half-time, and in the second half, we applied more pressure, moved better as a team, and created chances, and that’s what I want to see.”
FULL-TIME! 🇿🇦🇦🇴
South Africa start strong with a 2-1 win over Angola! 🌟⚽️#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | @tecnomobile pic.twitter.com/R0YRDb2k7c
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 22, 2025
Looking ahead, Broos said he welcomes the challenge of facing Egypt, viewing it as a game where his team can test themselves at a higher level but with less pressure.
“Egypt is another level, but these are the games we need. Angola is less familiar, and the first match of a tournament often shows your strengths and weaknesses,” he added.
“Now we know what we need to do, and we showed it in the second half. We will aim to replicate that against Egypt, and avoiding defeat would be very important.”
Premier league-based Forwards Omar Marmoush and Mohammed Salah fired Egypt to a thrilling 2-1 win in Agadir in the other group B game.
