Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has downplayed the importance of revenge in the lead-up to South Africa's crucial World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
South Africa will face the Super Eagles at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday, before welcoming the Warriors of Zimbabwe to Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
Broos' side are second in the Group C standings behind runaway group leaders Rwanda, with three points after two rounds of games. Nigeria, on the other hand, opened the series with consecutive draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and are in third.
Hugo Broos: Nigeria ‘know how strong Bafana are'
In a press conference on Monday ahead of South Africa's trip to Nigeria, Broos shot down any notion of seeking revenge for Bafana's penalty shoot-out defeat at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), urging focus on the task at hand.
“We don’t want to think about revenge,” he said. “It is a different game.
“Losing the game should not be a disaster because after these two games (against Nigeria and Zimbabwe) we still have six games to play. But I would rather not have a defeat in Nigeria.”
Nevertheless, Broos highlighted South Africa's progress, and urged his players to leverage their rising stocks on the continent.
“I think they will not start the game with the same mentality as they did for AFCON,” he said.
“They know now how strong we are. I think we have to use that and also use our status – we’re third in AFCON. We must stay humble. We must not think we are strong enough now. We still have to work hard and fight.”
Bafana Bafana's enviable record vs Super Eagles in Uyo
In the history of encounters between these nations, there have been 15 meetings, with eight victories for Nigeria and two for South Africa.
in spite of the Super Eagles' superior record, however, they have yet to defeat Bafana in matches played in Uyo, with South Africa's record on that ground standing at one win and one draw. The visitors have also scored two goals on each of their two visits.
