Ex Mamelodi Sundowns Star Blasts Hugo Broos After Comments on Bafana Bafana’s Performance vs Mexico

Ex Mamelodi Sundowns Star Blasts Hugo Broos After Comments on Bafana Bafana’s Performance vs Mexico

Former Bafana Bafana midfielder Teko Modise has criticised coach Hugo Broos, questioning his tactical approach and in-game management during South Africa’s 2–0 defeat to Mexico in their opening World Cup fixture.

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Broos’ side were reduced to nine men after red cards for Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane, but Modise argued that the coach’s initial setup—particularly the decision to start with a back five—contributed to the team’s struggles and left the attack isolated with little meaningful service to the forwards.

South Africa were also slow to adjust during the match, with Broos making his first substitution only after the team had already conceded and gone down to ten men. Two further changes followed after Mexico doubled their lead.

Broos sees positives despite defeat

Despite the result, Broos insisted there were encouraging signs from his team’s performance. Speaking after the match, he said:

“I think my team played a good game,” the Belgian coach stated.

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“At times, Mexico looked desperate; they couldn’t find any space. The only thing we must improve in the next game is our play when we have the ball. We weren’t very good with that today, and it’s something we have to work on.”

Modise pushes back strongly

Modise, however, strongly rejected that assessment during his analysis on SuperSport TV, accusing the coach of being out of touch with what unfolded on the pitch.

“You were the one that put this 11, this system all together,” he said. “You can’t come out and tell us as a country that things have been well. Which game were you watching?”

He added that South Africa lost control of the match immediately after conceding, and questioned the persistence with a defensive structure despite the game situation.

“With the players we have, we still went with five at the back in the second half… just hoping,” Modise said, criticising the lack of proactive changes.

“I was literally waiting for halftime so changes could be made, but they didn’t come. It felt like he was playing for a draw.

“We never set out to try and win the game.”

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Raphael Abiola avatar

Raphael Abiola (Sports editor) Raphael Abiola is a Nigerian Sports Journalist with over seven years of experience. He obtained a B.Tech degree in Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, in 2015. Raphael previously worked as a football editor at Stakegains (2016-2018) and a content editor with Opera News Nigeria (2018-2023). Raphael then worked as an Editor for the Local Desk at Sports Brief (2023-2024). Reach him via email at raphael.abiola@briefly.co.za.