Broos grumbles about US stadiums, hydration breaks at World Cup

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos could take satisfaction from his team’s fighting spirit against the Czechia, but the Belgian veteran was less impressed by the venue that staged the crucial World Cup encounter in Atlanta.

Bafana kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive after battling to a 1-1 draw beneath the closed roof of the gleaming Atlanta Stadium, home to NFL franchise the Atlanta Falcons and MLS outfit Atlanta United.

The Czechs struck early through Michal Sadilek, whose sixth-minute effort handed the Europeans control of the contest and threatened to leave South Africa staring at another painful defeat.

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Yet Broos’ men refused to fade.

They continued to probe and press for an opening and were rewarded seven minutes from time when Teboho Mokoena calmly dispatched a penalty after Pavel Sulc was penalised for handling the ball inside the area.

While the point breathed fresh life into South Africa’s Group A campaign, Broos reserved some of his strongest comments for the stadium itself.

Having opened their World Cup journey with a 2-0 defeat to co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Estadio Azteca, the Belgian drew a sharp contrast between the two venues.

“If I can be very honest, this is not a football stadium. It’s a nice stadium, fantastic stadium, everything you want. But only the grass is football. All the rest is not,” Broos, 74, told his post-match press conference.

“It’s a covered stadium. I like to play in an open stadium. I don’t feel really the atmosphere in such a stadium. When you compare it with Azteca, for example, that is a football stadium!

“These stadiums are fantastic stadiums for the crowd. I think they see