By Wale Mustapha
South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has made it clear that his team’s immediate focus in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers is on their upcoming clash against Lesotho, and not Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
The Bafana Bafana currently sit top of Group D, holding a six-point lead over Nigeria ahead of their highly anticipated meeting next Tuesday in Bloemfontein.
That fixture has been billed as a potential group decider, provided both sides record positive results in their preceding matches.
The reverse fixture between Nigeria and South Africa ended 1-1 when Finidi George was still in charge of the Super Eagles.
However, Broos has insisted that his players cannot afford to look past Friday’s tie against Lesotho.
“The game next Friday is about a week away and I don’t want to think about Nigeria for the moment,” Broos told reporters.
“We will see after the game with Lesotho who and how we are going to play against Nigeria.”
South Africa will host Lesotho before turning their attention to the clash with Nigeria, which could have a significant bearing on the group standings.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
