Hugo Broos sings Themba Zwane praises after Bafana Bafana hold Ivory Coast

Zwane scored the opening goal within seven minutes in Bafana’s international friendly match at Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, where the Ivorians came back midway through the second half through Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastian Haller.

REPORT: Bafana Bafana blow early lead but hold Ivory Coast to draw in Abidjan

Broos continues to rave about the 34-year-old's talent.

"We know that Themba is a very good player, so even in the beginning when I came to South Africa, he wasn't with the selection, but I explained that it was his age at that moment [because] we were building a new team at that moment," Broos told the media in Abidjan after the match.

"For me it was important to know which young players we had, but I have to confirm that, when Themba was there, the way of playing also changed.

"When we can reach Themba, he is very important for us, so you can see the difference between last Friday [against Eswatini] and today [against Ivory Coast], and it's someone who, if you see, you pass him the ball – I don't have to tell him anything.

"The only thing I ask of him in every game is try to have to ball as much as possible because he is important for us."

As Bafana now look ahead to the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers next month against Benin and Rwanda respectively, Broos was looking for strong opposition to test his side, and he felt the team responded positively and played with some passion too.

"The game itself, I felt already on Sunday during training that the attitude of the players was to give a reaction today, and the reaction certainly was there," he added.

"So, we didn't talk too much about Friday's game, we focussed everything on this game, and I'm very happy that the boys listened to what we said and asked of them, and they did it on the pitch."

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