DHL STADIUM – Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has emphasised the importance of consistency and preparation ahead of their second international friendly against Panama at DHL Stadium on Tuesday night.
South Africa head into the clash following a 1-1 draw at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday, where they produced a solid performance against the Central American side.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon and an opening fixture against Mexico looming, Broos is using the back-to-back friendlies as a key part of his preparations.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Broos confirmed a fully fit squad and underlined the seriousness with which the team is approaching the encounter.
“First of all, I can tell you that the 23 players are available for the game of tomorrow, so no injuries, no sicknesses, nothing. Secondly, we take the game of tomorrow very seriously,” said Broos.
“We did a very good game on Friday and we want to confirm that tomorrow again against a very good opponent, so I think we did the right choice to play against Panama two times.
“It was a good test already Friday and again tomorrow I expect a tough opponent, a good opponent also, so it’s alright for the preparation because that is the main goal of those two games. The preparation of the first game on the World Cup in Mexico against Mexico now in two months.”
The Belgian mentor believes that facing Panama offers valuable insight into what his side can expect when they meet Mexico at the global showpiece.
“I know that there are many similar things between Panama and Mexico, and that’s true that Mexico is maybe a better team than Panama, but okay, we have to prepare ourselves and we play against a middle American team,” he said.
“So we were looking for a middle American team also because the style and the way they play is a little bit different than all the opponents we had in the past years – it was only African teams.”
“So therefore, those two games are very important and I was also happy that we could play two games against them. So I think it’s a very good preparation for us for the game against Mexico.”
