South Africa coach tells critics to ‘shut up’ before second World Cup match

South Africa ‌coach Hugo Broos told critics of his tactics in last week’s World Cup opener ⁠to “shut up” and ⁠insisted he would continue to do things his way when planning for his team’s Group A clash against Czechia.

There was an outcry in South Africa when ⁠Broos took a rare defensive approach in the tournament’s opening match against Mexico last Thursday, which his team lost 2-0 without creating any genuine chances of their own.

Bafana Bafana, as South Africa’s team is known, also finished down to nine men, with ⁠two players sent off in the second half, and left little positive impression.

“I’ve been a coach for 40 years, and I know it’s a part of the job that you will be criticised. So for the moment, I’m criticised, but people have to know… and for those who still don’t know it… ‌I do it my way,” Broos said at a news conference on Wednesday.

“I never listen to the trash of the social media. I never listen to people who feel they are important enough to criticise the team. When I look back at what they achieved before, I think it should be better that they shut up,” he said in a reference to former player pundits.

“I know what went wrong against Mexico. The players know it, and that’s ⁠the most important thing, and for the rest, I will do it ⁠my way,” Broos repeated.

The veteran Belgian coach said it was imperative for South Africa to win on Thursday in Atlanta to stand any chance of advancing. The Czechs also lost their first Group A game to South Korea last week.

“I think ⁠our situation is clear. If we don’t win tomorrow, we play our last game against South Korea for nothing.

“This is something we must avoid. ⁠We know the mistakes we made in the first game, and ⁠some people said the coach is too soft on his players, but I don’t like to blame my players in front of a camera. So, sometimes you have to lie a little bit as a coach.”

Broos had said after the Mexico ‌match that he felt his team could be confident after the performance, also prompting derision among some South African supporters.

“We know what went wrong in the game against Mexico, and we will try ‌to ‌improve that tomorrow, but we can only improve that if we have the ball,” he added, giving some insight into the possibility of a different tactical approach on Thursday.