CAPE TOWN - On a day when Belgian-born Hugo Broos made his debut as Bafana Bafana's coach, he was pleased with the mentality his charges showed in the goalless stalemate against Zimbabwe in Harare on Friday.
The outcome was more or less what Broos expected from the team's opening Fifa World Cup 2022 Group G qualifier at the National Sports Stadium, the home of Zimbabwean football.
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On reflection, Bafana Bafana could have pulled off a win after dominating for most of the way. Apart from powderpuff efforts, bar one, from Bafana Bafana's attack, there were the heroics of goalkeeper Talbert Shumba, one of 10 SA-based players in Zimbabwe's depleted squad.
Shumba plies his trade with Free State Stars, the National First Division franchise that plays in the second tier GladAfrica Championship. Apart from three heroic efforts, he managed to keep a clean sheet thanks to defender Takudzwa Chimwemwe who came to his rescue by clearing off the line after his mistake.
Bafana Bafana substitute Bongokuhle Hlongwane was the unlucky one as his effort sizzled past Shumba but not past Chimwemwe, the Zambian-based left back. Chimwemwe’s other vital contribution to the team was keeping the mercurial Percy Tau quiet all afternoon, and that blunted Bafana Bafana' strike force.
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"Defensively, I think it was alright as we did not give away many chances to Zimbabwe," said Broos, who masterminded Cameroon's 2017 Africa Cup of Nations title campaign. "I was happy about that. On the other side, you have to score to win games, and today it was not so good offensively.
"Certainly, with the offensive game of our team, we have to be more dangerous. Those are things we have to work on. We will need some time to do that."
First round of the #WCQ ✅#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/uiYsFaBO5l
"I think we have to work on that in the next weeks, or the next months because for winning, you have to score. It was a problem for us today.
"I saw a lot of things that we worked on this week. For that, I am happy because it shows that players are listening. They are trying to do what we asked.
"It is the beginning, and in five days, you cannot do everything. That is that why we have things where we still have to work on."
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Bafana Bafana return to Johannesburg on Saturday, ahead of Monday's Group G clash against Ghana at FNB Stadium (kick-off 6pm).
South Africa have been a happy hunting ground for Ghana, who recorded their best World Cup performance ever here. They reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 Fifa showpiece and were eliminated by Uruguay on penalties at the FNB Stadium.
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