South Africa’s head coach, Hugo Broos, has downplayed the impact of FIFA’s three-point deduction on Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualifying hopes, insisting his players remain mentally strong and focused on finishing the job.

Naija News reports that FIFA confirmed that South Africa lost three points for fielding an ineligible player in one of their previous qualifying wins. The decision means Broos’ men now face a tougher path to qualification, with crucial games against Zimbabwe on Friday and Rwanda next week.

Speaking ahead of the Zimbabwe clash, the 73-year-old coach admitted the news was disappointing but urged fans to stay positive.

“I was a little bit disappointed when the three points were deducted and some people started doubting that we could qualify for America,” he said.

“I never understood that because we were not beaten on the pitch. But if we were beaten by Lesotho or Nigeria and they deduct three points, if then you started doubting then I understand.

“But now we played a good game against Nigeria, won against Lesotho and other games, why should we start doubting now.

“There’s no reason to do that, and I told the players this week. Don’t think those opponents are now twice as good as they were two months ago.

“Everything stays the same, the only thing is that if we could have had three points till now, we could have been qualified with a victory over Zimbabwe.”

Looking ahead, Broos stressed that South Africa must stay focused on their own results. “Benin can lose and even Nigeria can lose against Lesotho but if we lose against Zimbabwe, there’s a big problem then.

“So we focus on ourselves, and I didn’t even think until today, until tomorrow, about Rwanda.

“Rwanda is next week now, the focus is on Zimbabwe, and that is the most important thing that we beat them.”

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