Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was full of praise for his players after they brushed aside Lesotho 3–0 in Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier — and silenced the noise surrounding the controversy in the build-up to the match.
The result, secured by goals from Mohau Nkota, Lyle Foster and Oswin Appollis at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, keeps South Africa firmly top of Group C with 16 points — five clear of second-placed Benin.
It was a crucial victory, not only for their qualification hopes, but also as a response to Lesotho’s pre-match threats to have the fixture overturned due to the inclusion of Teboho Mokoena in an earlier qualifier.
The Lesotho Football Association (LeFA), through secretary-general Mokhosi Mohapi, had called on FIFA to dock Bafana three points and award them a 3–0 loss for fielding Mokoena during the 2–0 first-leg win in Polokwane five months ago. According to LeFA, Mokoena was ineligible, having allegedly accumulated two yellow cards in earlier qualifiers.
LeFA further claimed that, should Mokoena play on Friday, they would lodge a formal protest, arguing he had not yet served his suspension — despite being left out of the match-day squad against Benin, which followed the match in question.
Broos, however, remained unfazed by the controversy and named Mokoena in his starting XI, as Bafana went on to record a commanding victory and remain in full control of their own destiny in Group C.
“After everything that happened over the past few days, it was a tough game,” a relieved Broos said post-match. “I saw a very motivated Lesotho, and we did very well. We created chances, we scored, and we dominated.
“The only thing we had to do today was stay organised and avoid silly mistakes — and we did exactly that. Lesotho were keeping the ball in front and waiting for us to slip up, but we didn’t give them that opportunity.
“We deserved to win. And again, it shows that you only win games on the pitch — not off it.”
Broos admitted that he had sensed something was amiss in the build-up but chose to focus his team’s energy on the job at hand.
“Sometimes you have a bad feeling about something, even if you can’t prove it. And I have to be honest — I had that feeling over the past few days,” he said. “I won’t go into detail, but what happened wasn’t normal.
“That’s why it was so important for us to win today — and that’s exactly what we did.”
With the result in the bag, attention now turns to the next match — a high-stakes showdown against Nigeria on Tuesday. A win there, depending on other results, could confirm Bafana’s place at the 2026 World Cup.
“We’ll see what happens next week when we play Nigeria,” Broos added. “If God is with us, maybe we can already qualify. That’s our goal. We’re in a good situation, and everything is in our hands. It’s up to us now to finish the job.”
Despite the uncertainty in the build-up to the Lesotho match, Broos said his preparation remained consistent.
“I didn’t do anything more than usual. I just tried to prepare the players to win the game,” he said. “Again — you only win games on the pitch.”
