South Africa’s preparations for their 2026 World Cup qualifying clashes against Lesotho and Nigeria have been rocked by a growing injury list, giving Eric Chelle’s Super Eagles an unexpected boost, Footynaija.com reports.
Bafana Bafana, who sit top of Group C with 13 points, face neighbours Lesotho on September 5 before hosting Nigeria in Bloemfontein four days later.
The clash with the Super Eagles could go a long way in deciding who secures the automatic World Cup ticket from the group. But Hugo Broos is already counting the cost of unavailable players.
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According to a report by Legit.ng, Broos described the situation as “one of the most difficult preparations I’ve had since I’ve been the coach of Bafana Bafana. We have many injuries to important players.”
He added that the coaching staff cannot dwell on what is out of their power but must focus on ensuring victory, stressing that “this is a must-win match, and we cannot afford to lose points against Lesotho.”
South Africa will be without several key men in the World Cup qualifiers. More blows followed recently when Orlando Pirates forward Patrick Maswanganyi and Hannover 96 defender Ime Okon were both forced to withdraw due to injury, as confirmed by the report.
The Belgian tactician also sounded a warning about the danger of underestimating Lesotho, by saying that “the biggest mistake we can ever make is to underestimate our opponents. They are our neighbours, and we understand how challenging it can be to face tricky neighbours. We must be careful and keep the pressure on Nigeria.”
The absences leave Broos short of experienced options at a crucial stage of the campaign. While South Africa still hold a six-point advantage over Nigeria, a FIFA ruling on their earlier ineligible player incident could yet change the table’s outlook.
