The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) continues. Bafana Bafana played against Morocco on Tuesday 30 January beating them 2 – 0 and successfully advanced to the final eight of the tournament – knocking the Atlas Lions out of Afcon.
No goals were scored during the first half in the encounter played in San Pedro, Côte d’Ivoire. The two goals in the second half were scored by Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena, in a match that at times threatened to boil over from heated emotions.
Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane has heaped praise on Bafana Bafana star Teboho Mokoena saying “Tebogo Mokoena! What a player. The free-kick he scored was just the icing on the cake. He stepped on every grass leaf on the pitch. Bossing the midfield. No arguments, SA is one of the most tactically disciplined teams in the tournament. No frills, just grinding.”
This tournament is well-known for shock results and big upsets – strong contenders have been eliminated from this year’s Afcon – the likes of Ghana, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and 2021 African champions Senegal have all been sent home.
The nation recalls Bafana Bafana winning the Afcon in 1996 and remains hopeful for a positive result when they play Cape Verde on Saturday 3 February at 22:00.
Why does this matter? In Bafana Bafana’s last Afcon appearance in 2019, they lost to Nigeria in the quarter-finals. This time around – could the team go even further and advance beyond the last 8 to become one of the best teams in Africa?
Read more here: https://explain.co.za/2024/01/23/could-bafana-bafana-progress-to-the-last-16-at-afcon/
Image accreditation: Patrick de Laive on Flickr
