“We have to play every game with 100% of our talents and qualities," said the Belgian coach.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has warned his charges that they will not go far in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament if they continue to be “soft and weak”.
This comes after Bafana twice let a lead slide before edging Zimbabwe 3-2 in the final group match at the Marrakech Stadium on Monday night to reach the last-16 round of the AFCON.
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South Africa took an early lead through Tshepang Moremi in the seventh minute, but Tawanda Maswanhise equalised for the Warriors in the 19th minute.
Lyle Foster regained Bafana Bafana’s lead five minutes into the second half, but Maswanhise’s second effort deflected off goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and then Aubrey Modiba for a 73rd minute equaliser. However, a late Oswin Appollis penalty sealed second place in Group B and a place in the knockout stage.
They will now take on either Ivory Coast or Cameroon in Rabat in the last-16 round on Sunday.
Despite the gallant effort from his charges, Broos wasn’t pleased with their failure to protect the lead.
“This is something I am worried about because it happened again in this game and against Angola. Even in the first half against Egypt, we were soft and weak, we were not determined in duels and there was no aggression,” said Broos during the post-match conference.
“We started with aggression in the first 20 minutes against Zimbabwe, but we took the foot off the pedal and gave the opportunity to the opponent to get back in the game.
“We must learn to have concentration because it is either Ivory Coast or Cameroon in the next round and we can’t play like that against them. If we do that, we have no chance to win that game.”
Broos added that Bafana’s mentality needed to change if they’re to progress beyond the last-16 stage of the tournament.
“We have to play every game with 100% of our talents and qualities. If we don’t do that we are always going to be in trouble. It is not like you are South Africa and teams are afraid of you. They are trying to beat you.
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“You have to fight more, concentrate more, be more focused, and not think it is going to be easy like we did after 20 minutes against Zimbabwe. Something we have to know is if you want to go far in this tournament, this is the mentality we need. Because if we don’t, it will be finished quickly,” concluded Broos.
