With Bafana Bafana having turned heads by reaching the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, the future of their coach Hugo Broos has come under the spotlight.
Expectations were low on the South Africa national team going into Afcon and many critics felt that the team might not make it out of their 'Group of Death' where one of Africa's most consistent performers, Tunisia eventually failed to progress.
Bafana lost their opening game against Mali 2-0, but it was their 4-0 victory against Namibia that made the difference as South Africa drew 0-0 against Tunisia. In the knockout rounds, South Africa went on to famously beat Morocco 2-0 and then squeezed through against Cape Verde on penalties after a 0-0 scoreline at the end of extra time.
Thanks to these surprising results and taking Bafana to their first semi-final in 24 years, there are now question marks as to whether Broos will stay in the job after Afcon. Will the Belgian keep going into the World Cup qualifiers where they will probably compete against the very same team they face in the Afcon semis, Nigeria?
When the media asked Broos about possibly retiring after the Ivory Coast tournament, the Bafana coach made his future clear.
"Not at all, why should I think of that (retirement)? We're still not at the end, I said, 'okay, I'm 71', so I think there's moments to think about stopping my career," Broos said according to the Sunday World.
"As long as things are going the way they are now, why should I stop? I like my job, and I like football, so we will see what the future will bring," he added.
Broos was the oldest coach at the continental tournament, and made his name in Africa after lifting the Afcon title with Cameroon in Gabon 2017.
"I think it's totally normal that after a career of 36 years as a coach and 18 years as a professional football player, that little by little you start thinking about the end of your career, but it's nothing more than that – nothing more," Broos confirmed.
Given Bafana's superb improvement at Afcon, some of the continent's top guns were linked with Broos as their next coach, but South Africa's coach is expected to stay on with the hope of taking his team to the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
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