Bafana make good of fifa series

Bafana Bafana return to South Africa following a satisfactory performance in the ‘pilot phase’ of the FIFA Series which took place in Algeria. This series was introduced by FIFA to have teams that would unlikely face each other square up in a friendly match.

Bafana were handed two fixtures where they faced European minnows, Andorra and African powerhouses, Algeria. With the first game against Andorra ending in a disappointing 1-1 draw for the neutrals, Bafana Bafana Coach, Hugo Broos, was pleased with the performance from his men.

The Belgian tactician fielded an experimental side and managed to pick out some players that would form part of his core squad leading up to the FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers that take place in June. One of those players would be Elias Mokwana of Sekhukhune United. The winger scored the equalizer in the game against Andorra and when given the chance against Algeria in the following game, he contributed in another goal for Bafana.

However, the encounter between Bafana and the Desert Warriors was a more entertaining clash compared to the fixture between Bafana and Andorra. Broos went on to field his regular squad with some of the fringe players getting their chance in the absence of Yaya Sithole, Mthobi Mvala and Percy Tau.

Both Bafana and Algeria came to the party in the 6-goal thriller with both teams not looking to lose this encounter. Hugo Broos’ men came into this fixture believing they weren’t the underdogs following Algeria’s poor showing at this year’s AFCON, where the Desert Warriors were knocked out in the group stages.

With the game ending 3-3, Algeria’s Yassine Benzia opened the scoring for the Desert Warriors in the first half, just moments before Themba Zwane equalised for Hugo Broos’ men. Zwane popped up in the box again in the latter stages of the first half as he curled the ball into the back of the net to give Bafana the lead at the break.

In the second stanza, Algeria equalised in the 53rd minute through Yacine Brahimi following an error from Ronwen Williams as the shot stopper gifted the Algerians the ball on the edge of his 18-yard area. However, Iqraam Rayners saved Williams’ blushes as the Stellenbosch striker headed home a cross-cum shot from Elias Mokwana to give Bafana the lead.

With the game entering the last 20 minutes, Yassine Benzia sealed his brace with a magnificent overhead kick to equalise for Algeria as the game went on to end 3-3. 

In what turned out to be an entertaining clash for all football fans, Hugo Broos was also left pleased with the 6-gaol thriller. “What a game! It was a fantastic game from both teams, but the performance of South Africa was really, really good. We played against a very strong team, but I do not think there was much difference between the quality of our game and the quality of the game of Algeria. That means we have progressed in the last few months,” said Hugo Broos.