INGLEWOOD, California, June 28 (Reuters) - South Africa coach Hugo Broos offered a brutally honest assessment that his team lacked the pace and power to compete after their World Cup run came to a halt on Sunday as they lost 1-0 to Canada in the last 32.
South Africa conceded a stoppage-time goal to lose the opening game of the tournament's knockout stage and Broos felt Canada were the better side.
“I think we have to be honest that today, we lost the game because there was a lack of power and speed
in our team,” he said at the post-match press conference.
“When I compare us with our opponent, we lost a lot of duels and the speed in our team ... not only the running speed, but also the speed of execution ... was not the same.
“When you see how quickly Canada play and also their build up, it took long sometimes before we took a decision.”
Broos had preached about the domestic game in South Africa, from where most of his squad are drawn, not offering players enough exposure to the rigours of the modern game.
“These are things we have to work on, and this is also what I said already many times in South Africa, but nobody believes me," he said.
“Modern football is more than technique. Modern football is power and speed. If you don't have it in your team, and you play against a team who has it, and that was a big quality of Canada, then it's difficult. And we had a difficult game, certainly.”
But the 74-year-old said South Africa had exceeded expectations by reaching the knockout stage for the first time.
“When we look back, I think we can be very satisfied with what we did. It was 24 years ago that South Africa last qualified for the World Cup.
“Everyone hoped, but only some expected, that we should achieve (a place in) the second round.
“So, okay, we are disappointed, because we wanted to win, and it should be really a little miracle if we got through to the last 16, but we don't have to be too disappointed. What we did was good, and I'm very happy. I'm very proud of my team,” he added.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Atlanta; Editing by Toby Davis)
