South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has urged his players to approach their clash with Egypt without fear of individual stars, insisting that his side will focus on the collective strength of the Pharaohs rather than specific names.
Egypt are expected to rely heavily on the attacking duo of Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, both of whom found the net in their 2-1 victory over Zimbabwe in their opening match.
However, Broos made it clear that Bafana Bafana will not build their game plan around stopping one or two players.
“We are not focused on any individual player,” Broos said during Thursday’s pre-match press conference. “The most important thing for us is the team. We all know how good Salah is, how good Marmoush is, and how good Trézéguet and the others are.
“They are a very strong team, so why should we focus on just one player? Our objective is to beat Egypt as a team, not to ensure that Salah or Marmoush has a bad game. For us, the team always comes first.”
The Belgian tactician also stressed that South Africa will stay true to their playing style despite the quality of their opponents.
“We have to consider that we are playing against a very good team, that’s obvious,” Broos added. “But we will never adapt ourselves completely to an opponent. We have our own qualities and we must show them against Egypt.
“Of course, there are precautions to take. This is not a team like Zimbabwe or Angola; Egypt are on a higher level. Still, we must not forget our strengths or the way we have played in the past.
“We have to make things difficult for Egypt, and the only way to do that is by using our qualities and trusting the players we normally rely on.”
