Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says he is happy with the performance of his teams newly capped players in their goalless draw against Tanzania on Friday 6 June.
From his 23-man squad for the international friendlies against Tanzania and Mozambique, Broos fielded seven new players on Friday, with five in the starting lineup.
Hugo Broos reacts to Bafana-Tanzania draw"What I want to say is we had a totally new team today, with players who have never played together before, except those who play for the same team," the Belgian tactician said after the match, which was played at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
"So, it was not easy. I said it before the game, the result is not important and for me it was not important. Sure, we wanted to win the game today and we could have won the game because we had some chances.
But the performance was more important. I'm happy with what I saw today. You should not underestimate the fact that when you bring 23 players together and you select 11 to play a game, players who have never play together, it is not easy."
Broos also acknowledged that Taifa Stars were not easy opponents but added that his charges played well defensively.
A team that plays behind the ball and then try on transition to be dangerous. I think, as far as I can imagine, there was no chance for Tanzania today - nothing, nothing, he explained.
So, I couldnt have asked for more. Im happy with the performance of some players - even very happy. There were others that could have been better, but again, for the first time I cant be too harsh because the goodwill was there.
The South African senior mens team now turns its attention to its next friendly against Mozambique scheduled for Tuesday 10 June. The match will also be played at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Limpopo, with kick-off slated for 19:30.
The friendlies serve as preparation for FIFA World Cup qualifying matches scheduled for September and October this year.