South Africa Football Team head coach Hugo Broos has indicated that his team’s 1-1 draw with Nigeria was a fair reflection of the heated contest since neither team deserved to win the game.
He said this in his post-game presser after South Africa earned an extra point to inch closer to qualifying to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
William Troost-Ekong’s own goal in the 25th minute and Calvin Bassey’s header in the 44th minute settled the very scrappy game that was played out on a poor pitch at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Nigeria played the game without injured striker Victor Osimhen but got a controversial equalizer as the ball clearly struck Bassey’s arm off his head before entering the net.
Speaking in a post-game presser, Broos acknowledged the physicality both nations played with and was quite satisfied with the result.
And so it ends at Free State Stadium.. pic.twitter.com/6jYybfUFng
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 9, 2025
“We knew in the second half that we couldn’t win the game by playing football but by fighting and that is why we tried to fight. We were as much physical as our opponents and I think that result is the right result; none of the two teams deserved to win” Broos said.
South Africa lead Group C with 17 points while Nigeria have 11 points.
Tensions run high with the coaches and staff… pic.twitter.com/lFJCIK4GvV
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 9, 2025
