Johannesburg, May 28: South African club Mamelodi Sundowns' success in the African Champions League final is a big boost for the country's World Cup squad, national team coach Hugo Bruce said on Thursday.
Sundowns secured the top club prize on the continent with a 2-1 aggregate win over Morocco's Royal Armed Forces, playing out a draw in the second leg in Rabat on Sunday and returning home with tumultuous praise.
Sundowns have eight players in the South Africa squad for the World Cup, along with eight players from rivals Orlando Pirates, who became domestic league champions after beating Sundowns by one point last Saturday.
“We can say we have players from the best teams of the season. Those guys have a lot of experience at a high level,” Bruce said at a news conference on Thursday, the day after announcing his 26-man selection for next month's tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“I can assure you that Sunday's game for Sundowns was the toughest game in years. Not only the quality of the opponent, but also mentally, so it helps a lot when you have those players in your team.
“I'm obviously happy that Sundowns won the Champions League, because I was afraid that if they lost, I'd have players who would be very disappointed. So now they've all got more confidence, and that helps a lot.”
South Africa will face co-hosts Mexico in the opening game on June 11 and will also face the Czech Republic and South Korea in Group A.
Bruce expressed confidence that South Africa would advance to the knockout stages for the first time in four tournaments after getting past the initial group stage.
“For me, the first goal in this group stage is to get three points, as quickly as possible. I am confident that if we have three points, we will go to the next stage, of course taking into account that in this World Cup, there are eight third-place finishers who advance from the group stage.”
“In the past it was difficult because it was only the top two in the group. But now you have a chance to finish third and still advance,” the Belgian-born coach said.
“But if you don't have three points, I think it will not be possible to advance. So for us, it will be very important to get those three points as soon as possible, and then, I believe we can achieve it.”
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Keith Weir)