MARRAKESH, Morocco -- Hugo Broos said he took Sphephelo "Yaya" Sithole off at halftime of South Africa's 3-2 win over Zimbabwe in favour of Bathusi Aubaas because Sithole was losing the ball too easily.
With the score tied 1-1 at halftime, Broos brought Aubaas on for Sithole at the break. Sithole had two opportunities to score from headers in the first half, but steered his first effort off target in the 17th minute and his second into goalkeeper Washington Arubi's grasp in the 40th.
"I think Bathusi did very well when he came in. We had more pace on the ball. He was good in recuperation, but also in passing. That helped us a lot," Broos said of the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder in his postmatch news conference. He was less complimentary of the performance from Tondela's Sithole.
"Yaya lost the ball too easily, took the wrong decisions, and that was not good for our team," Broos added. "With Bathusi, we had more security when [we] lost the ball, but also when we had the ball."
In the round of 16, South Africa will face the second-placed team from Group F. This will be either Cameroon, Ivory Coast or Mozambique, as Gabon are out of contention. Broos would not reveal his plans for midfield in the knockout round.
"Again, it was a very good 45 minutes from his side," Broos said. "I cannot tell you now if he will play or he will not play. We will see first who will be our opponents -- but Bathusi playing like he played in the 45 minutes; we can use him very well."
In the 2-1 win against Angola in Bafana's opening group game on Dec. 22, Broos went with Sithole and Teboho Mokoena in midfield and Sipho Mbule in the No.10 role behind striker Lyle Foster.
Four days later, Broos took Mbule out of his starting lineup to play a three-man midfield featuring Thalente Mbatha against Egypt. Mokoena and Sithole remained starters.
Broos' only change after the Egypt defeat for Monday's match against Zimbabwe was Mbule's reintroduction behind Foster, with Mbatha dropping to the bench.
Aubaas played 10 minutes against Angola and was an unused substitute against Egypt, but has put himself in the running for more minutes in the knockout rounds.