South Africa "ready to win" against Rwanda in soccer World Cup qualifiers, says coach Broos

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUTH AFRICA AND RWANDA SOCCER TEAMS HOLDING PRESS CONFERENCE AND TRAINING DAY BEFORE WORLD CUP QUALIFIER MATCH IN MBOMBELA, SOUTH AFRICA SHOWS: MBOMBELA, SOUTH AFRICA (OCTOBER 13, 2025) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. VARIOUS OF SOUTH AFRICA SOCCER TEAM, "BAFANA BAFANA," STRETCHING  2. SOUTH AFRICA TEAM JOGGING 3. SOUTH AFRICA SOCCER PLAYERS WARMING UP 4. SOUTH AFRICA NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM, COACH HUGO BROOS SPEAKING  5. SOUTH AFRICA PLAYERS KICKING BALLS  6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH AFRICA COACH, HUGO BROOS, SAYING:  “We all knew that it should be very tough and difficult against that motivated team of Zimbabwe. And yeah, things happened and we can't change it anymore. But again, we were not the same team anymore after the game. So, we had some work to recover.” 7. SOUTH AFRICA PLAYERS WARMING UP 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH AFRICA COACH, HUGO BROOS, SAYING:  “We are ready to win the game, but we all know that cannot be enough. So let's hope at the other side that the gods are with us and that we see the result everyone hopes Nigeria, and that is that Benin lose the game.” 9. RWANDA SOCCER TEAM JOGGING AROUND CONES 10. RWANDA PLAYERS WALKING IN CIRCLE, GREETING OTHERS 11. RWANDA GOALKEEPERS TRAINING NEXT TO GOAL POST 12. (SOUNDBITE)(English) RWANDA SOCCER CAPTAIN, DJIHAD BIZIMANA, SAYING: “Games, for the national team, it's very important. It's always, you’re playing for something. We are playing for our country, playing for our pride. So for tomorrow, we are going all in and then the results we will see, but we're not coming like, oh, it's finished. It's not finished because it's our country and it's very important for our country.” 13. RWANDA PLAYERS WARMING UP 14. RWANDA NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM HEAD COACH, ADEL AMROUCHE, TALKING TO COLLEAGUE 15. SOUNDBITE (English) RWANDA COACH, ADEL AMROUCHE, SAYING: "We are having this game with other goals, and it's true, we're going to have some changes in the team, to give other players time to play also, because it's a very good game for them to … and also a good opportunity to see some players in the game, like the game of tomorrow with a very good team, that will be a chance for them, but also good for us to have an opinion about these players." 16. RWANDA TEAM HUDDLING IN CIRCLE  STORY: South Africa's national soccer team, Bafana Bafana, will host Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday (October 14), with their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup hanging in the balance. After a goalless draw against Zimbabwe last Friday and points deductions from a previous fixture against Lesotho, South Africa must secure a win against Rwanda to keep their qualification dreams alive. The team's fate, however, also depends on Nigeria defeating Benin in a concurrent qualifying match. "We are ready to win the game, but we all know that cannot be enough," Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos told reporters. "So let's hope at the other side that the gods are with us and that we see the result everyone hopes Nigeria, and that is that Benin lose the game." Rwanda's squad indicated that their focus for this qualifier extends beyond the result, with an emphasis on giving younger players experience on the international stage. Captain Djihad Bizimana said the match remains significant for the team. "We are playing for our country, playing for our pride," Bizimana said. (Production: Esa Alexander, Catherine Schenck)

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