The Head Coach of South Africa Bafana Bafana Hugo Broos has heaped praise on his players despite losing their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Nigeria.
Kelechi Iheanacho converted the winning penalty as Nigeria held their nerve for a 4-2 shootout win over South Africa to reach the AFCON final. William Troost-Ekong’s spot-kick in normal time had looked like sending the Super Eagles through without further stress, particularly when Victor Osimhen turned the ball home with five minutes remaining.
That goal though was chalked off, and South Africa awarded a penalty of their own for a foul in the build-up. Teboho Mokoena converted to force extra time, and penalties followed.
Broos reacting to his side’s loss said “Football can be hard, when you see the performance of my team today and then there are penalties and you lose the game, you’re not in the final, it’s hard to accept that, because we played a very good game today,” Broos said after the match.
“I think we were the best team first half, we had the best chances. Nigeria didn’t have one chance, no, nothing. The second half, was ok, they had a few chances and scored.
“But then we changed something tactically and we could come back but two minutes before the end of the 90 minutes we had again three chances. So if we could score there, it’s us going to the final and not Nigeria.
“It’s a big disappointment for everyone because we feel that we played a very good game today, that we played a very good AFCON. I’m very, very proud of it. I’m proud of my players.”
