Bafana coach Hugo Broos said he was proud of the team's 'fighting spirit'
Hugo Broos praised the battling spirit of his Bafana Bafana side after they held off Nigeria to earn a valuable point in Fifa World Cup qualifying Group C at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Bafana match Nigeria in the fight
In a very physical encounter, Bafana stood toe-to-toe with the Super Eagles, the 1-1 draw edging them closer to the World Cup finals next year in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
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“We survived today and the way we played Nigeria was the right way,” Broos told SuperSport TV after the match.
“It was not such good football but the fighting spirit was there and I am very proud of the team.”
Bafana started the game superbly, their slick passing too much for the visitors. Broos’ side took the lead in the 25th minute when Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong put the ball through his own net from Mohau Nkota’s low cross.
Nigeria did find a controversial equaliser on the stroke of half time, Calvin Bassey heading in off his own arm.
‘We need one more win’
But the draw has all-but ended Nigeria’s chances of topping Group C.
Bafana, meanwhile, probably need only one more win against Rwanda or Zimbabwe to qualify.
“Now we need one more win and we go to America,” added Broos.
“I hope we can do it as soon as possible.
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“In the first half hour we played very good football,” he added.
“But they (Nigeria) have so much power in their team and they started to use it. My team also has power, and you saw in the second half we fought for every ball, for every metre. We tried to win but today it was not possible there was too much fighting.”
