South Africa will be looking to claim maximum points from their 2026 World Cup qualifier with Nigeria on Friday evening.
Hugo Broos’ men have reportedly endured their fair share of difficulties during their travel arrangements to Uyo for the highly anticipated clash, with the national team forced to spend the night in Port Harcourt “as the airport had closed before their scheduled departure” read reports.
A statement on SAFA’s website read: “Traversing the African continent is not for the faint-hearted and Bafana Bafana have had one of their longest trips to Nigeria, spanning more than 30 hours until eventually arriving at their hotel on Thursday morning.
“Coach Hugo Broos’ charges arrived in Uyo, Nigeria, just after 11h00 local time on Thursday morning, this after the initial charter flight out of Johannesburg was delayed by 4 hours on Wednesday. After eventually leaving OR Tambo International Airport, the team had to stay over in Port Harcourt on MD-2 but despite the long hours of travel, they are determined to tackle the task at hand.”
At a press conference held at Godswill Akpabio stadium, Broos went on to say, “We are more focused than ever. Traveling in Africa is difficult, so that is not our focus. We are focused on the job at hand and that is the game against Nigeria,”
We will see about Mudau, there is much talk about him and other injuries. Obviously, the (Nigeria) dangerman is Ademola Lookman, then there is Victor Osimhen, who is doubtful, but we are not focusing on that. We are focusing on our game tomorrow, we have the ability and we have proven that at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire,” chuckled Broos.
The match is scheduled for 20h00 local time (21h00 SA Time) at Godswill Akpabio Stadium.