'Nigeria will help us' - Hugo Broos relying on Super Eagles to aid Bafana Bafana's qualification push

South Africa have opened up a two-point gap in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers after a 2-0 win over Lesotho at the Peter Mokaba Stadion on Friday evening.

After a goalless first half, the game came to life on the hour mark when Relebohile Mofokeng broke the deadlock and four minutes later, the hosts were two goals up, thanks to Jayden Adams' strike.

Nigeria got the job done in Kigali, beating Rwanda's Wasps 2-0 courtesy of a first half brace from Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen but still trail South Africa by four points at the halfway stage of the World Cup qualifiers.

Mathematically, the Super Eagles' hopes of automatic World Cup qualification are out of their hands, given their four-point deficit to Bafana Bafana and the fact that they still have to play in South Africa.

South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has expressed confidence that Nigeria will play a pivotal role in helping his team secure qualification to the 2026 World Cup.

Speaking to reporters after his team's win against Lesotho, Broos highlighted the importance of Nigeria's recent victory over Rwanda, which tightened the group standings.

He pointed out that Nigeria, currently trailing South Africa by four points, can no longer afford to drop points in the qualifiers and will be fully committed in every match.

"You know I said a few days ago that there was a team or country in the group who can help us a lot and it is Nigeria. You saw they beat Rwanda today," Hugo Broos said at the post-match press conference.

"They cannot afford themselves anymore to lose points. Against every team they will do everything to win and at the moment, we have four points ahead of Nigeria."

Despite the favorable position, the Bafana Bafana coach stressed that South Africa must stay focused and continue doing their part to maintain their lead.

"It's up to us to do what we have to do, and when we do that, Nigeria will help us — you'll see," Broos added confidently.

Looking ahead to their next World Cup qualifier against Gernot Rohr's Republic of Benin, Broos urged his team to remain disciplined and avoid mistakes.

"The situation is good for the moment. It's up to us to keep it that way and, certainly next Tuesday in Ivory Coast, not to do anything stupid," he concluded.
 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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