It was not a dream. Bafana Bafana beat the best team in Africa, Morocco, last Sunday. The result booked a quarter-final place at Afcon 2023.
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AFCON 2023: MOROCCO 0-2 BAFANA BAFANA
The South African national side did not start well in Ivory Coast. The first battle with a humbling 2-0 loss to Mali.
Hugo Broos’ side responded superbly with a 3-0 win over Nambia on matchday two. That match was followed by a dull but gritty 0-0 draw with Tunisia.
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The biggest test for Bafana was in the final 16.
A goal by Orlando Pirates striker Evidence Makgopa and a fabulous free-kick by Teboho Mokoena.
“I don’t think that I have to tell you that I’m very happy today,” coach Broos said, as quoted by iDiskiTimes.
“We beat Morocco and it’s not only because we are in the quarter-finals, but beating a team like Morocco is something special. This is a very good team with very good players but we did the right analysis and the way we played, the tactic was the right one.
“First half was a little bit of a [slow] game, I thought that both teams were a little bit afraid of each other, but the second half was more open with a few chances for Morocco but we scored and that is always important to score the first. After that, we were a bit lucky because Morocco started to play powerplay with their good players, high balls and very hard duels. So they had a few chances then but after the second goal it was over and we are in the quarter-final.
“And we are very, very, very happy.
Coming up next is a meeting with West Africa’s rising powerhouse Cape Verde. The Islanders, ranked two places below us on the continent, have three wins out of four games, including a victory over Ghana. They have scored eight goals and conceded three,” the Bafana tactician concluded.
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THE FINANCIAL REWARDS
According to the Confederation of African Football’s (caf) new Afcon prize money, Saturday’s clash, at 22:00, between Bafana Bafana and Cape Verde will be a R47 million match.
How? Winning the quarterfinals to qualifying for the semifinals guarantees $2 500 000 (R47 million).
𝗔𝗙𝗖𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗭𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬 💰
⏳ Winner: R131 million
⏳ runners-up: R75 million
⏳ Semi-finalists: R47 million
✅ Quarter-finalists: R24.4 million #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/TnDQPb78yg— iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) February 1, 2024
