Hugo Broos Wants Lyle Foster and Lebo Mothiba Back for 2026 World Cup Qualifier Payback Mission

• Hugo Broos is feeling confident about South Africa's next meeting with the Super Eagles
• Bafana Bafana and Nigeria are in the same tight 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying group
• They meet again in June but first, they must decide who gets which medal at AFCON 2023

Hugo Broos and Bafana Bafana may already be looking into the future for fresh challenges.

They are due to play DR Congo in the match for the bronze medal, a fixture that is generally considered a bittersweet chore in every tournament.

The Belgian was at a pre-match conference in Abidjan before their final outing in Ivory Coast at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium.

Broos has extracted the positives from their semi-final loss to Nigeria, recognizing Nigeria as the team to beat but expressing confidence in his team's capability to win the match.

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South Africa will need to face the Super Eagles twice on their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification route and they will need to win at least one of those in order to book a trip to North America.

Key to doing so, the 71-year-old believes they will need their star strikers, even though Evidence Makgopa was a hardworking replacement. Broos said at a pre-match conference:

"We will need to look at bringing back some players in the next months. Players like Lyle Foster, Lebo Mothiba and others, as we begin to prepare for the next qualifiers."

Broos noted an additional factor being the scheduling of friendlies against high-quality opponents. Regular competition, he said, was an important part of maintaining a high level of sharpness.

Bafana Bafana play DR Congo for the bronze medal on Saturday night aiming to bring home an AFCON medal for the first time in 23 years.

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Hugo Broos addresses retirement talk

Sports Brief recently reported on 71-year-old Broos's answers to suggestions he may be retiring.

The Belgian manager led Bafana Bafana to the semi-final of the competition for the first time since 2000.

South Africa will compete for the tournament's bronze medal against DR Congo on Saturday evening.