2026 WCQ: You can’t do that against Nigeria – South Africa’s coach Broos on team selection

South Africa’s coach Hugo Broos has said he could only take the risk of handing Relebohile Mofokeng his full debut against a team like Lesotho and would not attempt such against Nigeria.

He explained that such opportunities are not given in high-pressure matches against top sides like Nigeria.

The Orlando Pirates forward started on Friday evening as Bafana Bafana secured a 2-0 victory over Lesotho in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match.

Before the game, the 20-year-old’s five previous caps for South Africa had all come as a substitute. He was an unused substitute in his first call-up for a competitive fixture when Nigeria and South Africa played out a 1-1 draw in Uyo back in June.

Mofokeng caused constant problems for Lesotho and capped his fine performance with a goal in the 60th minute.

Speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference, Broos said that starting young players can be a big risk.

“I think this game was the right moment for Rele, he played a very good game and this is what we need. When you put a young guy in the team, as a coach, you always have to consider whether they can succeed.

“If he doesn’t, can you imagine if he had a bad game? Then everyone would say, ‘Yeah, yeah, maybe it’s too soon, maybe he’s not that good, blah, blah, blah.’ So you have to help the player with that… but this was also the right opponent for such a move.

“You can’t do that against Nigeria, or maybe not for the first time in Benin, because those are completely different games,” he said.

2026 WCQ: You can’t do that against Nigeria – South Africa’s coach Broos on team selection