South Africa manager Hugo Broos says it is difficult to accept Bafana Bafana’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi final loss to Nigeria.
The 1996 AFCON champions put the Super Eagles under periods of pressure but could not make it count as the game ended 1-1 in regular time and extra time where Grant Kekana was sent off in towards the end.
South Africa had two penalties saved by Nigeria’s Stanley Nwabali in the shootout which sealed the defeat and led Broos to rue his side’s missed chances.
“Football can be hard sometimes, when you see the performance of my team, and then there is penalties, and then you lose the penalties and you are not in the finals, it’s hard to accept that because we play very good game,” Broos stated.
“I think we were the best team in the first half, we got the best chances, Nigeria didn’t have any chance. Second half they have few chances which resulted in a goal and we changed something tactically, and we could comeback.
“We created more chances which means if we had scored, we would have been in the final and not Nigeria.”
Highlights | ???????? Côte d'Ivoire vs DR Congo ???????? | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Semi Finals#AfrosportTV #AFCON2023 #CIVCOD #AfricanFootball pic.twitter.com/UkSfKOeR0n
— AfroSport (@AfroSportTV) February 8, 2024
Despite the defeat, Broos was pleased with his side’s overall performance in the tournament so far.
“It’s a big disappointment for everyone, we believe we played a very good game, not just today but throughout the tournament. I’m proud of my players, the disappointment is this but the proudness is that,” the Belgian tactician added.
South Africa will gear up to face DR Congo for the bronze medal in Abidjan on Saturday night.
