In a hard-fought opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Bafana Bafana sealed a 2-1 win over Benin but coach Hugo Broos acknowledged the challenges posed by Benin’s aerial prowess.
Bafana Bafana secured the crucial three points at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon.
Percy Tau and Khuliso Mudau were on target for Bafana while Steve Mounie scored the consolation goal for Benin.
While Broos expressed his delight with his troops performance, he also admitted that Bafana struggled to cope with the physical presence of Benin’s forwards, particularly their towering striker Mounie.
Mounie’s imposing height and aerial ability proved to be a constant threat throughout the match.
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“Sure, I’m happy, it was not an easy game. But I said already don’t underestimate the opponent, they play a simple game; Lick in front and then fighting for the ball,” said Broos on SABC 1.
“We had some problems in the second half and with the goal they scored there was a little panic in the group but okay, the most important thing for qualifiers is to win the games and we did.
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“Against the game that Benin played it’s very difficult, you also need guys of 1.90m height, we don’t have them. They kicked always the ball to that long player, and then with the header and then the second ball and this is difficult to defend.
“But, they only had that one chance and it was a goal. At the other side we had two little chances to score the third goal, then the game would’ve been finished. But the goal from Benin it was to the end suspense.”