Ex-Chiefs coach advises Broos on Sundowns combination that can beat Czechia

Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Khalil Ben Youssef has advised Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos to play Teboho Mokoena as the deep-lying midfielder if he wants success against the Czech Republic.

Broos’ men have a tough match coming up on Thursday (18:00 SA time) as they need to bounce back from their 2-0 loss in their World Cup opener against Mexico last week.

The tactician has been heavily criticised over his decision to play with a back five against Mexico while going with an overly defensive midfield of Sphephelo Sithole, Mokoena and Jayden Adams.

Former Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef. Image: Kaizer Chiefs

Sithole was at fault for the first goal as he was robbed of the ball when he received it poorly from goalkeeper Ronwen Williams before he was sent off for denying a Mexican forward a goal scoring opportunity.

Ben Youssef tells Broos best tactical plan

According to Ben Youssef, all these can be solved by making Mokoena the deep-lying midfielder as he is adept at receiving and supplying the ball even under pressure.

“South African football or the Bafana Bafana is the technical quality and the ability to keep the ball,” he told Andile Ncube on Metro FM.

💣🇹🇳 Chiefs former coach 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐟 says Bafana Bafana must return to Sundowns football, Mokoena always receives from Ronwen pic.twitter.com/etUeDcrEer
— Sundowns Xtra ⭐️⭐️ (@SundownsXtra_) June 17, 2026

“It’s the football of Mokoena, it’s the football of Sundowns. That’s the team that they can keep the ball and they can play. We watched the game [against Mexico]. We feel like the players, they were a little bit confused.

Ex-Chiefs coach on Mokoena’s importance

“They don’t know how they play. And I think it’s about the system. It’s not about the players, it’s about the system. When you change the system, the players, they were a little bit confused. And, for example, the goal that was conceded, the first goal, it was always Mokoena is the player who comes short to receive the ball,” he added.

“And they are repeating this with Sundowns every single game. Mokoena, he will come short, even with the pressure, and he will receive the ball and he will not lose possession.

“But in this case, it wasn’t Mokoena, it was Sithole. When Sithole came, he is a different profile, he made the mistake, we conceded the goal.”