Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos may have not been on the bench when his side was knocked out at the first time of asking at the Cosafa Cup, but not even the comfort of his couch would have eased his worries on the repair job he'd need to make on his return.
The South African men's football team configured a largely adolescent group of players with the potential to grow into world beaters in the coming years.
Well at least that's what they thought until a hugely underwhelming performance against a weak Mozambique outfit reminded all and sundry of the consequences of a neglected development process and the pressures that are in line to be addressed by Broos.
Part of the deliberation involved various discussions of identifying individuals within the Under-23s to slot into the senior setup in time for Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and World Cup preparations.
However, of the 14 players that were involved in their defeat against the Mambas, a few players showed the required maturity and guile to make the step up into senior football.
The SA Under-23s had not played together for over a year since a match in July at the Olympic Games. The Under-20s, who were made up of a huge majority of the members selected for Cosafa Cup, had not played for two years with the Under-17s also facing a similar predicament.
The best national teams, particularly regulars at continental and world cup tournaments all possess similar characteristics in a unified playing philosophy that runs through from the senior teams all the way down to Under-17 level, a trend the South African Football Association (Safa) has tried to hop on with little success.
The 70-year-old Belgian international formed part of the group that established the foundations to produce the recent high number of Belgian internationals across the best league's in the world, ideas that are to be set in place in his national team reconstruction.
SuperSport United's Keagan Johannes led his charges out in front of a pompous crowd in the heart of Umlazi at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday, a testament to the undying love football fans will always harbour for our national teams despite the regular social media trolls.
While he might have ruffled a few necessary feathers recently, If coach Broos is to awaken a sleeping giant in Bafana, he will definitely need to rediscover the kind of chemistry that made South Africa a tricky nation to visit around the mid-90s.
We've bared witness to the kind of psychological influence a 'hot night at the Cairo International Stadium' or a 'daunting visit to Accra against Ghana' has on any nation playing away at these two powerhouses and the hold it still harbours amongst in the officiating too.
The utilisation of a young squad may not have been a better idea in the broader context ,and it has afforded the revelation of integral components required for reconstruction of the team for the future.
IOL Sport