Olympic dream not over yet

The SA Olympic team may have lost 3-0 to hosts Egypt in the semifinals of the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on Tuesday, but the David Notoane-coached troops still have a chance to qualify for the Olympics, needing to beat Ghana in the third-place playoff on Friday (4.30pm).

Egypt’s win over SA was marred by a number of poor decisions by Senegalese referee Daouda Gueye, the most controversial being the penalty the hosts were awarded to score the first goal.

SA defender Thendo Mukumela was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box, when he was clearly way out of the box.

Ramadan Sobhi converted the resultant penalty before Abdel Magdy’s brace put the match to bed.

In his post-match media conference, Notoane was interrupted by the celebrating Egyptian players, who sprayed water on him.

Despite the disturbance in the media conference room, Notoane kept his cool and joked about the incident, saying it should be a sign of luck for the Ghana game.

“I am showered with water, which is a blessing. I don’t take alcohol. I hope it is a blessing for a victory against Ghana and we can be where the Egyptian team are,” Notoane quipped.

Meanwhile, Safa acting CEO Gay Mokoena has confirmed the players who joined the team in Egypt only after the start of the Fifa week will remain for Friday’s tie.

“Everyone is available for the Ghana game. We spoke with all the clubs and all is in order,” Mokoena told Sowetan.

A number of players, such as the SuperSport United duo of Sipho Mbule and Teboho Mokoena, missed the first match against Zambia two weeks ago due to their club’s unwillingness to release them before the Fifa break as the eight-nation competition in Egypt falls out of the global football governing body’s calendar.

The winner between SA and Ghana on Friday will join Egypt and Ivory Coast as Africa’s three representatives at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

The winner between SA and Ghana on Friday will join Egypt and Ivory Coast