WILLIAMS THE CONQUERER
This team under Broos can rewrite history, just as they’ve done against all odds in this Afcon tournament
Incredible! Ronwen Williams!
That’s one way of summarizing Bafana Bafana’s qualification for the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 24 years, with Bafana Bafana skipper Williams making four saves in the penalty shootout to gift SA a 2-1 victory over Cape Verde at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro last night.
Bafana will meet Nigeria at Stade Bouake at 7pm (SA time) on Wednesday where they will start as underdogs against a team that has always beaten them in this tournament.
Williams’ performance saved Bafana’s blushes as Zakhele Lepasa and Aubrey Modiba missed their spot kicks, with only Teboho Mokoena and Mothobi Mvala’s strikes hitting the target.
Bafana played the match on a day they won the tournament, beating Tunisia 2-0 at the FNB Stadium 28 years ago. However, it was to prove a difficult shift for Hugo Broos’s men, who struggled to control the match against a Cape Verde side that was unlucky not to win the match inside 90 minutes.
Bafana had more time and space on the ball in this match than they had in their remarkable and energy sapping 2-0 victory over Morocco, the number one ranked team in Africa, in the last-16 match on Tuesday.
Mokoena had a good attempt at goal inside the first 10 minutes, but his long-range shot was well saved by Cape Verde keeper Jose Dias. Bafana were guilty at times of looking overconfident on the ball and often lost it when they had a chance to punish their opponents.
There was nothing separating these sides from their previous five official encounters, with each winning two and the other one ending in a stalemate.
Cape Verde dominated possession and always looked dangerous on the break with their skipper Ryan Mendes and wingers Garry Rodrigues and Jovane Cabral giving Bafana’s defence a hard time. Surprisingly, Cape Verde coach Pedro Brito took off both Mendes and Rodrigues in the second half.
Williams kept his team in the game after making a top drawer save off Gilson Tavares in the added time.
Broos stuck with same starting XI for the fourth consecutive time. It showed that victory over Morocco took a lot on the players and a little tweaking of the line-up would have helped. But such is the dependence on his first XI that Broos felt no need to rest any of the players that played a huge part in the win against Morocco.
Broos also delayed most of his substitutes, only taking off Thapelo Morena and Percy Tau for Thapelo Maseko and Mihlali Mayambela in normal time. Mayambela and Evidence Makgopa were denied by Dias in the first minute of extra time — one of the few clear-cut chances created by Bafana in the entire match.
Nigeria, one of the biggest rivals for SA on the continent, have never lost a match against Bafana in an Afcon tournament. In three previous meetings — in 2000 (2-0), 2004 (4-0) and 2019 (1-0) — the Super Eagles have won without conceding a goal.
Nigeria’s 2-0 victory over Bafana in 2000 in Lagos was the last time Bafana qualified for the semifinals. Nigerian fans will have fond memories of Tijani Babangida scoring a first-half brace that secured them a place in the final against eventual winners, Cameroon.
But this Bafana team under Broos can rewrite history, just as they’ve done against all the odds in this tournament. If Bafana can find a way to contain the Super Eagles’s attack which is spearheaded by Africa’s Player of the year, Victor Esimhen, nippy winger Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman, half of the job would have been done.
Earlier in the day, a stunning back heel by substitute Oumar Diakite in the last minute of extra time booked hosts Ivory Coast a place in the semifinal against DR Congo at Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe at 10pm (SA time) on Wednesday. Diakite’s goal gave the Elephants a 2-1 victory over Mali in a match played at Stade Bouake.
DR Congo were winners of Afcon in 1968 and 1974 and last came close to winning the title for the third when they finisedh in the third place in 2015. Ivory Coast will be bidding to win the Afcon for a third time after winning it in 1992 and 2015.
The Olympic Stadium will host the final of the 34th edition of Afcon at 10pm on Sunday.