Hugo Broos lauds fighting spirit after Bafana held to World Cup qualification draw with Nigeria

William Troost-Ekong broke the deadlock at the Free State Stadium with an own-goal after 25 minutes. Calvin Bassey then secured a point for Nigeria when he levelled with his strike a minute before the half-time break.

The result saw Bafana end the evening in first place in Group C with 17 points; three clear of second-placed Benin and six clear of both third-placed Nigeria in third and Rwanda, in fourth place.

Broos' team need at least a win from their final two games, against Rwanda and Zimbabwe, next month to qualify for the World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year.

Speaking after the draw, the head coach told SuperSport: "We survived today and the way we played Nigeria was the right way.

"It was not such good football but the fighting spirit was there and I am very proud of the team.

"Now we need one more win and we go to America. I hope we can do it as soon as possible."

Reflecting on the performance of his players, Broos further explained: "In the first half hour we played very good football. But they (Nigeria) have so much power in their team and they started to use it.

"My team also has power, and you saw in the second half we fought for every ball, for every metre. We tried to win but today it was not possible there was too much fighting."

Bafana face Zimbabwe on October 6 and Rwanda on October 13, 2025.