We Silenced ‘Big Mouths’ – South Africa Coach Broos Boast After Beating South Korea In World Cup

South Africa coach, Hugo Broos, has said his players silenced their critics after Bafana Bafana qualified for the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in their history.

Naija News reports that South Africa defeated South Korea 1-0 on Wednesday to finish second in Group A behind co-hosts Mexico, who won all three group matches.

The African side, appearing at the World Cup for the fourth time, had been written off after losing 2-0 to Mexico in their opening game.

However, they recovered with a draw against the Czech Republic before beating South Korea in Monterrey through Thapelo Maseko’s second-half goal.

“I’m very proud of the performance of my team and I think we gave an answer to all those big mouths of the last weeks that thought that we had to change something,” Broos said.

“We just did what we did. We just did what I wanted to do and this is the result.”

Broos, 74, who has coached South Africa since 2021, described the achievement as emotional, noting that he was nearing the end of his career.

“I said it already in the past that probably it will be one of the last games of my career and when you can end a career like I had in this way, I think everybody or every coach dreams of it,” he said.

The Belgian said he always believed in the squad despite criticism.

“Between me as a coach and them as players is yes, maybe something unique, I’m the coach, but I’m not a coach,” he said.

“I think I’m a friend of theirs. So the relationship between the players and me, this is very good.”

South Africa will face co-hosts Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday, with a place in the last 16 at stake.

“I just know that the players will be ready again and try to achieve the third round,” Broos said.

“It should be even more historic. But those players are chasing those things. Those players want to prove to everyone and to show that they are a good team. So we will see next Sunday if we can go further.”