By OBAKENG MAJE
21 December 2025- Coach Hugo Broos will lead the South African senior men’s national soccer team for the 50th time when Bafana Bafana face Angola at the Grand Stade de Marrakech in their opening match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on 22 December 2025. Kick-off is at 7pm (South African time).
It has been a long road at the helm for the Belgian mentor and his tenure with Bafana Bafana started on a winning note, setting the tone for his stay in the more than four years he has been steering the ship. On 5 May 2021, the South African Football Association (SAFA) appointed Broos to take charge of the country’s senior men’s national team.
In the following month (10 June 2021), he was in the dugout for the first time at Orlando Stadium, where Bafana Bafana ran out 3-2 winners against Uganda in an international friendly match. Over four years later, the 73-year-old mentor is on the brink of a half century of matches with the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations champions.
SAFA president, Danny Jordaan said Broos has been in charge of 49 Bafana Bafana matches, bringing him to one away from reaching a half century, and in that time, Bafana Bafana have made great strides. Jrodaan congratulated Hugo for reaching this milestone.
“Notably, Bafana Bafana were ranked 75th when Broos arrived and they are now in 61st spot, with the top 50 well within sight for some time. The team took the Bronze medal at the last edition of AFCON, which was hosted by Côte d’Ivoire in 2024.
“Broos and his men took it up a notch when they qualified for the FIFA 2026 World Cup in October 2025, a tournament that will be held in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico from 11 June – 19 July 2026,” he said.
Jordaan further said on a personal note, on 5 May 2025, Broos equalled the late Clive Barker’s record of being Bafana Bafana’s longest-serving coach as he reached exactly four years at the helm. He added that Barker, who guided the South African senior men’s national soccer team to their 1996 AFCON triumph, was in charge from 1 Jan 1994 to 1 Jan 1998, while Broos now holds the record of having been in charge for well over four years.
“Most importantly, Bafana Bafana are now a force to be reckoned with and Broos’ record of 24 wins, 19 draws and just six defeats ranks amongst the best of the coaches that have guided the team. Broos has enjoyed some big victories along the way, including beating Sierra Leone 4-0 in a friendly and Namibia by the same scoreline at the previous Africa Cup of Nations, as well as the 5-0 hammering of Congo Brazzaville in a qualifier for this year’s AFCON.
“He has indicated that he would step down after the World Cup next year, but for now he remains focused on the job at hand. If his time with Bafana Bafana is anything to go by, then there’s a very good reason for the nation to believe that Bafana Bafana will put on a great show at the AFCON in Morocco and then proceed to the World Cup full of confidence,” said Jordaan.
Below are coach Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana results from 2021 to date:
SA 3-2 Uganda (Friendly)
Zimbabwe 0-0 SA (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 1-0 Ghana (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
Ethiopia 1-3 SA (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 1-0 Ethiopia (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 1-0 Zimbabwe (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
Ghana 1-0 SA (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
Guinea 0-0 SA (Friendly)
France 5-0 SA (Friendly)
Morocco 2-1 SA (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
SA 4-0 Sierra Leone (Friendly)
SA 1-0 Botswana (Friendly)
SA 2-1 Mozambique (Friendly)
SA 1-1 Angola (Friendly)
SA 2-2 Liberia (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
Liberia 1-2 SA (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
SA 2-1 Morocco (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
SA 0-0 Namibia (Friendly)
SA 1-0 DR Congo (Friendly)
SA 0-0 Eswatini (Friendly)
SA 1-1 Ivory Coast (Friendly)
SA 2-1 Benin (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
Rwanda 2-0 SA (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
Mali 2-0 SA (Africa Cup of Nations)
SA 4-0 Namibia (Africa Cup of Nations)
Tunisia 0-0 SA (Africa Cup of Nations)
SA 2-0 Morocco (Africa Cup of Nations)
Cape Verde 0-0 SA (Africa Cup of Nations Quarterfinals, Bafana won on penalties)
Nigeria 1-1 SA (Africa Cup of Nations Semi-finals, Bafana lost on penalties)
SA 0-0 DR Congo (Africa Cup of Nations third place playoff, Bafana won on penalties)
Andorra 1-1 SA (Friendly)
Algeria 3-3 SA (Friendly)
Nigeria 1-1 SA (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 3-1 Zimbabwe (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 2-2 Uganda (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
South Sudan 2-3 SA (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
SA 5-0 Congo Brazzaville (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
Congo Brazzaville 1-1 SA (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
Uganda 0-2 SA (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
SA 3-0 South Sudan (Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier)
SA 2-0 Lesotho (FIFA World Cup Qualifier, Bafana forfeit the match 3-0)
Benin 0-2 SA (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 0-0 Tanzania (Friendly)
SA 2-0 Mozambique (Friendly)
Lesotho 0-3 SA (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 1-1 Nigeria (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 0-0 Zimbabwe (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 3-0 Rwanda (FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
SA 3-1 Zambia (Friendly)
TOTALS: 49 matches; 24 wins, 19 draws, six losses, 75 goals.
The Guardian 