Bafana’s Broos rues ‘handball’ goal but Chelle insists Nigeria can still qualify for WC

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has partly blamed his defenders for the Super Eagles' equaliser on Tuesday night at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

A William Troost-Ekong own goal gave the hosts a deserved lead halfway through the first half, before Calvin Bassey responded later on. Replays suggested that the goal shouldn't have stood since he used his arm to guide the ball home.

The Belgian insists his defenders could have stopped the cross in the first place. Despite the chances created later on, none managed to collect maximum points but it is Mzansi who are now close to the World Cup ticket after taking their points tally to 17 from eight game in Group C, six more than the Super Eagles.

Bafana Bafana played well, but…

“It was a game like I expected. On my side, the team who wants to play football, on the other side, a team that tried to win the game by power,” Broos told the media.

“We did very well in the first half, but Nigeria tried physically to come back, and they did. If we defended with more aggressiveness, the goal would never arrive, and secondly, it was [a] handball.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria coach Eric Chelle insists his team is still in the race for a World Cup ticket despite the draw. “My players are professionals and I know they will still want to win the remaining two games. A lot can happen over the next one month. But before that, we will have to analyse our performance [against South Africa], which will not be easy.”