South Africa National Team Head Coach, Hugo Broos has given reasons why South Africa lost their Group E opener to the Eagles of Mali.
Mali overcame South Africa with two quick-fire goals in the second half from Hamari Traore and Lassine Sinayoko.
The Eagles were dominant in possession throughout the first half but it was Bafana Bafana who should have opened the scoring
South Africa could have taken the lead in the first half but Percy Tau blazed his penalty over the target.
Instead, Mali finally found their breakthrough on the hour mark. Sekou Koita hit the underside of the crossbar with a stunning free kick from the edge of the box, and captain Hamari Traore reacted quickest as he poked the ball home.
Hugo Broos speaking after the match said his side played well despite the loss “”I have to congratulate my team for the performance of today. I think we lost the game in two facts, The first is missing the penalty. Secondly is the physical power, especially in the second half of Mali. Those reasons made us lose the game today but the performance of South Africa was good and I think if we scored the penalty the game should be different.” – Said Hugo Broos.
South Africa will now shift attention to their next match against Namibia who stunned Tunisia to record their first-ever AFCON.
