South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has indicated that his team is now counting on Nigeria to defeat the Benin Republic in the final Group C 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
Broos explained that a win for Nigeria would benefit South Africa, giving them a chance to top the group if they also secure victory against Rwanda in their own fixture.
The 73-year-old Belgian made the remarks following South Africa’s 0-0 draw with Zimbabwe in Durban on Friday. The result leaves Bafana Bafana in second place with 15 points, two behind group leaders Benin Republic.
South Africa, however, remain one point ahead of Nigeria, who sit in third place. As a result, Broos’ team must now rely on Nigeria to overcome Benin if they hope to finish at the top of Group C.
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“Yeah, this is not good, also that we don’t have the result in our favour either, but what can I say? I can’t blame my team, I can’t be angry, I’m just very disappointed that we could not score the goal that we needed [against Zimbabwe],” Broos told SABC Sport.
“We have to play again like today and try to win that game and see what happens, if everything is like it has to be, maybe Benin losing in Nigeria and with the goal difference, I don’t have a good view of that, but we just have to go for the victory against Rwanda and see what happens.”
