14th October 2023
South Africa were held to a goalless draw by a side positioned 79 places below them on the FIFA rankings and has failed to qualify for the AFCON, unlike Bafana who this week discovered their group stage opponents for next year.
But Broos says he was in disbelief watching them against eSwatini.
"There we many feelings that went through my body during and after the game. Frustration, anger, disbelief, I didn't believe what I saw. The first half, also the second half but the first half we played very badly. I think we had one chance to score in 90 minutes. Again, against with all respect Eswatini," Broos said.
Bafana’s journey to sealing qualification to the continental showpiece in Ivory Coast three months from now included a memorable display away to Liberia in March.
Although a dead-rubber by then, Broos’ charges also managed a 2-1 victory over Morocco in June to remind Africa what they can bring to the table.
On Friday night, the coach said he couldn’t recognise his team.
"And we were lucky that we played today against a team of that level, otherwise it would have been a disaster. I didn't recognise my team and again we tried to change something during halftime hoping that things should get better but we went on playing 90 minutes on the same low level.
It's unbelievable when three months ago you saw that team playing against Morocco. It's unbelievable, four months or five months ago you saw that team playing against Liberia."