'Not just kick-and-rush': Rwanda coach defends tactics against outsmarted Bafana

Rwanda head coach Torsten Spittler revealed that the game plan in their victory over Bafana Bafana was designed to prevent Hugo Broos' charges from playing their 'tiki-taka' style of football.

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Rwanda shocked the South Africans with a 2-0 scoreline in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the at the Huye Stadium in Butare on Tuesday.

Under Broos' guidance, Bafana have adopted a style of play reminiscent of Barcelona's tiki-taka. This involves executing short passes, maintaining constant player movement, and skillfully controlling the ball as they attempt to navigate through different channels to retain possession.

Yet, circumstances on the day were not conducive to such a style, with the Huye Stadium's synthetic pitch being waterlogged and lacking a drainage system.

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While Broos acknowledged the defeat, he mentioned that Rwanda managed to disrupt his Bafana charges with their kick-and-rush football, which amounts to long-ball crosses, bypassing the midfield and placing pressure on the defence.

Spittler, however, had done his homework on how Bafana would approach the game, and the German-born coach's tactical adjustments proved beneficial for the home side, while also taking conditions into consideration.

He challenged Broos's assertion that Rwanda played kick-and-rush football, maintaining that it was a misrepresentation of their strategy.

"The main approach was that we wanted to play football, not kick-and-rush. So, somehow the weather made some problems because we couldn't play football," the 62-year-old coach revealed during his