South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has played down suggestions that his side will focus on stopping a single player when they face Egypt in their second Group game later today.
Bafana Bafana lock horns with the record African champions at the Adrar Stadium, with both teams coming into the encounter on the back of opening-day victories.
Egypt edged Zimbabwe 2-1 in their opener, while South Africa also claimed a 2-1 win against Angola to make a promising start to the tournament.
Despite the obvious danger posed by Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, Broos insists his team’s approach will be centred on the collective strength of Egypt rather than individual threats.
“They are such a good team. Why should we focus on one player? We have to be prepared to beat the team rather than [seeing to it that] Salah doesn’t play well or [Omar] Marmoush doesn’t play well. No, for us, it’s the team that’s important, and we don’t really focus on one player,” Broos said.Â
The Belgian coach acknowledged that Egypt present a tougher challenge than South Africa’s previous opponents but stressed that his players must trust in their own ability.
“There are some precautions we have to take. It’s not a team like Zimbabwe; it’s not a team like Angola. This is a team a level higher, but on the other hand, we don’t have to forget our qualities. We don’t have to forget the way we played in the past,” he added.
The Group clash is scheduled to kick off at 15:00 GMT.
