South Africa’s Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has admitted that their opponents, Morocco, are overwhelming favourites to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals from Group K.

The Belgian said this in reaction to the draw for the next edition of AFCON, which Ivory Coast will host.

The draw took place on Tuesday in South Africa where Bafana Bafana were placed in group K alongside Morocco, Liberia and Zimbabwe.

Broos, who won AFCON with Cameroon in 2017, said he was under no illusion that it would be a stroll in the park against Morocco.

“It is clear that Morocco is the best team in our group. They were in the Afcon in January, they were eliminated by Egypt and they are a very good team,” he told www.Safa.net today.

“Maybe Morocco are the best of our group.”

Broos said he was aware of some of the Atlas Lions key players such Tarik Tissoudalithe and Selim Amallah very well.

PSG wingback Achraf Hakimi and Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech are also some of the players to look out for in the Morocco squad.

“I know this team very well. So, I think if we want to be first in our group, we have to beat Morocco,” Broos added.

The coach suggested that he fancied Bafana Bafana’s chances of beating Zimbabwe and Liberia.  

 “We played against Zimbabwe during the qualifiers for the World Cup. We know them very well, we played two times against them last year [Bafana won 1-0 at home and drew 0-0 away], so they are a tough team. But this is a team we have to beat [if we are to qualify],” Broos said.

South Africa have never been the same giant force since 1996 when they won the AFCON trophy on home soil then lost in the final of the subsequent edition held in Burkina Faso.