Despite what could only be described as a lacklustre result against Andorra, Bafana Bafana redeemed themselves with an enthralling 3-3 draw with hosts Algeria on Tuesday and South Africa’s coach Hugo Broos suggested his team are among the best on the continent.
Following their 1-1 draw with lower-ranked Andorra in the first of the two-match Fifa Series last week, South Africa were hoping for a better performance against an Algeria side ranked 43rd in the world.
A brace from Themba Zwane and a goal from Iqraam Rayners helped Bafana complete an impressive high-scoring draw, against the opposition ranked 15 spots ahead in the Fifa world rankings.
Broos now believes there is no reason to be intimidated by any team on the African continent.
‘We did it again’
“But I think today, we did it again. I don’t think we have to be afraid anymore of any team in Africa,” said Broos after the match.
Bafana are now ranked 58th in the Fifa world rankings mainly due to their exploits at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year when they claimed the bronze medal.
The two friendly matches gave Broos the chance to widen his net of players he could call on for upcoming Fifa World Cup qualifiers starting in June.
“The team is brimming with confidence, which is also what I witnessed at the Afcon tournament. We are not just a team on the pitch but also a team off the pitch.
“This is very important, as we’re a squad of 23 players and only 11 but you see also that the guys on the bench are really supportive of those on the pitch.
“This is a very good thing and when you see this as a coach you can only be happy.
“What we showed at Afcon, we showed again on the pitch tonight that we’ve made a lot of progress.”
‘What a game’
As for the contest against Algeria, Broos was just as impressed by his side.
“What a game, it was a fantastic game from both teams and the performance of South Africa was really, really good today,” Broos said
“We played against a very strong team, but I don’t think there was much difference in quality between Algeria and ourselves.
“So that means that we have made a lot of progression in the last months, where we’ve shown that already at Afcon.”