South Africa head coach Hugo Broos says he will resign from the job if they don’t secure a place at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
“If we lose both games, five minutes after the game I’m on the flight to Belgium. You can be sure of it,” said Broos. “If we can’t win, okay Uganda [away is tough], but at home against South Sudan, I tell you I will immediately take a flight and you will never see me again.”
Broos named his final 23-player squad for the two games on Thursday, 7 November 2024 and he welcomed goalkeeper Sage Stephens to the team as he steps in to replace the injured Ricardo Goss.
“These two games are very important. We can qualify for AFCON in Uganda if we win, but if we don’t, then we have to do it against South Sudan at home. So, these games are very important,” he said.
“It is also important for me that I can always count on nearly the same players. They know how we work, and they know what we ask from them in a game. So, there is no adaptation. You also create friendships between players when you always have nearly the same players.
“Now we have a new player in goalkeeper Sage Stephens because Ricardo Goss is injured. So, we had to choose a replacement. He deserves to be here because he delivers fantastic performances with Stellenbosch. I’m sure that he will adapt very quickly to this group.
“So, again, we will try to win the first game in Uganda so that when we come back, we have already qualified, and we have a relaxed game against South Sudan.”
