Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revealed that his side will face reigning world champions France in March 2022.
South Africa have no engagements in the upcoming Fifa international week later this month after their failure to advance to the final round of the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
The last time Bafana Bafana faced France was almost 12 years ago. Bafana emerged 2-1 winners from a famous 2010 World Cup Group A match in Bloemfontein. France has suffered a player revolt of sorts during the tournament.
The encounter against France’s Blues will be Bafana’s first match since their controversial 1-0 loss to Ghana in their final World Cup qualifier in November of 2021.
Broos also disclosed that Bafana Bafana will take on Zambia during the March international week.
“We are playing March against France and I think against Zambia after that,” Broos told the Sunday Times.
“Those are the two matches to prepare us for the [2023] Afcon qualifiers in June. You are playing against the world champions.
“Strong opposition give you proper preparation. Even if you lose the games it is not a train smash.”
Broos said there could be no better preparation for competitive football than to take on the world champions. The Belgian believes the value of taking on the tricolour will go far beyond what result they can achieve on the day.
“You can learn a lot of things and get an indication of where your team is at. Immediately you will see where the weaknesses are,” he explained.
“Such games tell you the distance the team has covered. They give you something more. Maybe that is what we needed and didn’t have for the qualifiers of the World Cup. We didn’t really play tough matches.”
