Bafana Bafana to face Congo Brazzaville

Bafana Bafana are all set to face Congo Brazzaville in tonight's 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Ggeberha. The South African senior men's national team will host the Congolese at 7pm. 'The boyz [sic] are ready,' Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Gayton McKenzie, said in a social media post on X on Friday. Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos said his team has prepared well in the last few days. 'I'm more comfortable now than I was in the beginning of our camp. 'Again, I saw a very hungry team this week. We trained very well this week; we prepared ourselves very well and this is something I like about this group. I think everybody was aware of the fact that our games against Uganda and South Sudan were not our best games, and that we were lucky to achieve those 4-on-6. 'And then you see the immediate reaction of the group, and it means we did a lot of progress also on that level, the mental level. After the performances of September, we will again motivate each other and be ready to have good results, two good results against Congo tomorrow and next week on Tuesday,' the coach said ahead of Friday's game. Captain Ronwen Williams said the spirit in the camp has been exceptional. 'There's been a change in mentality, and you could see it this week in training. Once the team was together, the team spirit was there again,' said Williams. In its statement, the South African Football Association (SAFA) said the visitors arrived in the Eastern Cape on Thursday afternoon and had their first training session at the match venue in the evening. Following tonight's match, Bafana Bafana will travel to Congo to play the return match on Tuesday, 15 October. Source: South African Government News Agency