However, he remains confident that his team can emulate their performance from the 2024 Afcon in the Ivory Coast, where they secured the bronze medal.

Both the Pharaohs and South Africa have been drawn in Group B of the Afcon, alongside Angola and neighbours Zimbabwe.

While South Africa are the 2024 bronze medallists, Egypt will be a tough challenge, especially if Liverpool right winger Mo Salah features in their squad.

Reacting to Monday night’s draw for the continental football showpiece, Broos remarked that Egypt would be their toughest opponent and certainly the team to beat. “In general, I think we can be satisfied. It is not a very easy group, but on the other hand, I think we have a great opportunity to qualify for the next round of the Afcon,” said Broos.

“As you know, in the Afcon, after the group stages, anything is possible. So, we will do everything to perform better than the last Afcon.

“When I look at our opponents, I think that Egypt are the favourites to win the group. They didn’t do very well at the last Afcon; they didn’t perform as everybody expected and exited the tournament early.

Mo Salah. Photo: Liverpool FC

“In the past year and a half, they have built a very strong team. They did very well in the qualifiers, so they will be the team to beat for first place.”

In 2019, when the Afcon was hosted in Egypt, Bafana beat the Pharaohs 1-0 in the round of 16 to advance to the quarter-finals, while knocking out the host nation.

Meanwhile, Bafana will resume their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with a home match against Lesotho and an away fixture against Benin in March. The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco is scheduled to kick off on 21 December, with the final to be contested on 18 January 2026.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg