Picture: Bafana Bafana players against Nigeria
By SAFA
A 10-man Bafana Bafana bravely gave their all during a dramatic Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Nigeria before eventually losing 2-4 on penalties in Côte d’Ivoire. Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos’ valiant charges had fought very hard to force the match into extra time, and eventually the tense penalty shootout, after the two teams ended the 90 minutes deadlocked at 1-1.
They did it while a man down after Grant Kekana was sent off in the final minutes of extra time.
William Troost-Ekong opened the scoring for the Nigerians from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute after Victor Osimhen was judged to have been brought down inside the area. The South African senior national team clawed their way back in the 90th minute through Teboho Mokoena, who also beat Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali from the penalty spot.
The Egyptian referee, Amin Omar awarded the spot kick after consulting Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Bafana Bafana will now play the DR Congo in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture, Beauty Dlulane said, they have noted with appreciation Bafana Bafana’s performance against Nigeria. Dlulane said South Africa should be proud of their performance at AFCON 2024.
“Bafana Bafana went out fighting and dominated all aspects of the game. They were able to dominate Nigeria and pushed them all the way. The nation supports the boys; we are proud of the effort they put in.
“In semi-finals, worse still in penalty shoot-outs, anything is possible. We were able to push Nigeria, a team composed mostly of European-based players, with mostly locally-based players,” she continued,” she said.
Dlulane said Bafana Bafana’s overall performance in the AFCON 2024 is a vote of confidence in the South African Premier League and in the quality of the local players. She said the nation is immensely proud of the effort, be it on the losing side tonight.
The Guardian 