Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi believes Hugo Broos made avoidable, basic errors that contributed to Bafana Bafana’s early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Speaking on UKhozi FM, as quoted by iDiski Times, Mngqithi suggested Broos was not as sharp as he had been at the previous tournament.
“At this AFCON, I don’t think he was as focused as he was at the last one,” Mngqithi said. “The mistakes he made were elementary, which is surprising because he is a top coach.”
Mngqithi pointed specifically to the decision to bench two in-form players, arguing that it disrupted South Africa’s attacking plan.
“He made a mistake by leaving out Moremi and Modiba, who had played impressively before. Against Cameroon, we needed players who could exploit the space behind their defence. Moremi would have been ideal because we knew they would come at us.”
He added that Bafana Bafana lacked a clear counter-attacking strategy, despite moments that showed what could have been possible.
“We should have had a plan to punish them on the counter. When Modiba delivered two quality balls into the box, Mudau or Foster should have converted at least one. In truth, I don’t think we were beaten by the opposition — we beat ourselves.”
The comments sparked mixed reactions among supporters. Some agreed with the tactical critique but argued that South Africa currently lacks a dominant, in-form club core to carry the national team, pointing to examples like Spain building around strong Barcelona or Real Madrid sides. Others rushed to Broos’ defence, crediting him with restoring confidence, delivering a bronze medal, and guiding Bafana back into World Cup qualification, insisting that one tournament exit should not overshadow his overall progress.
A third group struck a middle ground, arguing that while Broos has earned respect, his decisions — like any coach’s — should still be open to scrutiny and debate.