BAFANA Bafana of South Africa head coach Hugo Broos and captain Ronwen Williams are upbeat about their chances against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the AFCON 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Bouake, Cote d’Ivoire later today.
Broos is gunning for a second AFCON title after steering Cameroon to success in 2017, and he believes he can deliver it with this current Bafana Bafana squad.
Although the Super Eagles have had the better of Bafana Bafana overall and in their AFCON clashes over the years, Broos has confidence in his side.
“Yes, we know and understand who we are up against,” the Belgian said during his pre-match press conference yesterday.
“We know the might of this team and that their players play all over Europe. We also know that last time in an AFCON what the result was, but this time it’s different.
“It’s different players, a different team and a different AFCON. Anything is possible.”
Bafana Bafana captain and goalkeeper Williams, who was the man of the match in the quarter-final clash against Cape Verde after saving four penalties during the shootout, praised his teammates for getting this far in the competition.
“After seeing the players run for about 130 minutes non-stop, it was my turn to stand up and do my part,” the Mamelodi Sundowns star said
“I’m happy it went our way but ultimately this is a team sport. I don’t like to take credit because they fought just as hard. So, reaching the semi-finals here means we did it together.”
South Africa will be without midfielder Thapelo Maseko, who has sustained an injury.
“Sadly due to the third-degree tear (hamstring), Maseko is out for the rest of the tournament. But he remains with us till the end,” Broos explained.
“We will not replace the player with another due to time (visas and the travel time to get to Cote d’Ivoire at short notice), so we will continue the tournament with the squad we have.”
The semi-final clash is scheduled for Bouake’s Stade De La Paix from 6pm Nigerian time today.
