South Africa’s head coach, Hugo Broos, has acknowledged the transformation in the Super Eagles under their new head coach, Finidi George.
Jose Peseiro led the Super Eagles in their previous encounter against South Africa at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Finidi George took interim charge of the Super Eagles in friendly matches against Ghana and Mali in March, showcasing a different approach from the team seen at the AFCON.
Broos noted the offensive shift in the Super Eagles’ style under Finidi George, contrasting it with Peseiro’s more defensive tactics.
He expressed the need to devise a strategy to contain the Super Eagles, similar to their approach at the AFCON.
“We will try to shock them again. It’s a little bit different than the team of AFCON,” Broos told SABC.
“With Finidi George, they have a coach who thinks more offensively. Peseiro was a little bit more defensive, and I saw that certainly in the game against us, he was always telling the team to go back.
“Also in the final, they didn’t really play offensively, they just tried to be good defensively and then hoping on a counterattack or a situation in front of the goal where they could score.
“I saw two games against Mali and Ghana, it’s different. They take a little bit more initiative. It’s not the team anymore who went back and waited.
“They also try to make pressure early in the game and close to the goal of the opponent, so we have to look for something now that we can shock them again like we did for the game in Ivory Coast.”
Bafana Bafana is set to face the Super Eagles at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, next Friday.
