Hugo Broos said he wants more of the same from South Africa when they take on Panama in the second of their World Cup warm-up games in Cape Town on Tuesday despite the fact Bafana Bafana did not win on Friday.
“We played a very good game on Friday. We want to confirm that tomorrow again against a very good opponent, so I think we made the right choice to play against Panama two times,” Broos said at Monday’s pre-match press conference.
“It was a good test already Friday, and again, tomorrow, I expect a tough opponent, a good opponent also. So, it's all right for the preparation, because that is the main goal of those two games (against Panama) …. preparation for the first game in the World Cup, in Mexico, against Mexico, in two months’ time.”
Broos said all 23 players in the squad were fit for Tuesday’s game and he would be making some changes to the line-up from Friday in Durban.
“First of all, I think the way we played and the performance of Friday, I was very satisfied about it. As I said already in the past, our Afcon in December was not that good for various reasons.
“So I wanted to install a little bit more mentality and discipline in the team. And I think we succeeded on Friday. I was happy with the performance. I was also happy with the mentality. I was happy with discipline. I was happy with everything, except a few things in the game.
“We had a debriefing this (Monday) morning, and players know there were a few details that we have to try to do better. At the other hand, I was also very happy with the crowd on Friday because that was for me also a little question mark because the reaction of the fans after Afcon was not so positive … and it was normal that they were not positive …. But, yeah, the South African people were again there in the stadium, and it will be a full house tomorrow (Tuesday).
The grind never stops. 💪🏽 The boys are putting the final touches on their game plan before taking on Panama tomorrow night. Bring the noise to DHL Stadium and let's back our boys! 🗣️🇿🇦 🔥⚽️🇿🇦
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) March 30, 2026
South Africa 🇿🇦 v 🇵🇦 Panama (Match 2)
🏟 DHL Stadium, Cape Town
📅 31 March 2026
🕑… pic.twitter.com/9bhVymAyyU
WORLD CUP SQUAD NEARLY SORTED
Broos insisted Panama were a good choice as a warm-up opponent.
“Absolutely, otherwise we wouldn't have done it. I know that there are many similarities between Panama and Mexico. I think, and that's true, that Mexico is maybe a better team than Panama, but okay, we have to prepare ourselves and we play against a Central American team because the style and the way they play is a little bit different than all the opponents we had in the past years. It was only African teams we’ve played against.
“So, therefore, those two games are very important, and I was also happy that we could play two games against them.”
Broos said he was certain about 70 per cent of his final squad selection for the World Cup.
“Everything depends a little bit on the shape of the players. Maybe in the next weeks, they will not play anymore in their teams, or pick up injuries, or that kind of thing. But for 70, 75 per cent of the selection is already in my head and will not change. Not even if tomorrow we play a bad game. But there are still some positions that I want to decide on in the next weeks before I make my choice.”