South Africa head coach, Hugo Broos, has congratulated his players for being outstanding against the Super Eagles of Nigeria despite their ordeal before the match.
The Bafana Bafana of South Africa reportedly spent over 18 hours in transit before they finally arrived in Uyo on Thursday for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against the Super Eagles on Friday night.
They ought to have arrived in Uyo on Wednesday but they took off from South Africa later than scheduled, hence, before they were done with a routine Customs Service clearance in Port Harcourt, the airport in Uyo had closed. They slept in Port Harcourt and continued their journey to Uyo the following day.
Despite their dramatic journey which the Nigeria Football Federation had blamed South Africa for, the Bafana Bafana managed to put up a show against the Super Eagles.
Thembo Zwane gave South Africa the lead in the 29th minute and Nigeria’s Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored the equaliser for Nigeria in the second half.
After the 1-1 draw at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Hugo Broos praised the mentality of his players to be able to withstand the star-studded Super Eagles despite their hectic journey to Nigeria.
“I have to congratulate my players. As you know or you don’t know, we had a terrible travel to Nigeria on Wednesday”, Broos told reporters in Uyo.
“We were only in bed at two o’clock on Thursday morning. So we were 20 hours on the way. And when you see the mentality in the team today, then I can only be proud of my players.”
South Africa who are now sitting 4th in Group C will face their neighbours, Zimbabwe at the Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein on June 11.
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