How North Macedonia is giving Bafana Bafana hope against Morocco

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos wants his charges to have no fear against Morocco in their upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier.

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South Africa's senior national team are again vying for a place to participate in a major tournament and they kickstart that journey next week.

Morocco, who are ranked second in Africa behind Senegal and 24th globally, come as a stern test for Broos' charges.

It is the first of four home and away fixtures Bafana will play in the qualifiers against Morocco and Liberia after Zimbabwe were dumped out of qualifications after their FIFA ban.

Bafana did not make the cut for the 2020 Afcon, and soon after, Broos replaced then-coach Molefi Nsteki to get the national team back on track.

The Belgian mentor has overseen eight matches since his arrival in May last year and guided South Africa to a second-place finish in the World Cup qualifiers, losing their final group game that ultimately determined their fate.

More recently, a goalless draw to Guinea in Belgium and a 5-0 thumping at the hands of world champions France remain fresh in the minds of the South African public.

Broos and Bafana have now further been on the wrong end of slander, and he has responded with good measure as well.

But now, he shifts his focus to Morocco, a team he describes as "good" but beatable as he takes inspiration from North Macedonia's victory over Italy in the World Cup semi-final playoffs in March this year.

Aleksandar Trajkovski netted a low driving strike in the second minute of stoppage time that stunned the European champions on home soil.

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