South Africa secured the third-place position in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for football as the tournament concludes its games Sunday in Ivory Coast with a title face-off between the host country and Nigeria. South Africa attained this victory after defeating the Democratic Republic of Congo in a penalty shootout of 6-5 following a goalless draw at the end of regular time on Saturday.
Led by Belgian coach Hugo Broos, the “Bafana Bafana” team had set their sights on reaching the final for the first time since 1998 when they lost to Egypt. This marks their third time in history to clinch a title, with their first triumph in 1996 on home soil against Tunisia in their debut appearance after the end of the apartheid regime. Their notable journey included eliminating Morocco (fourth in the 2022 World Cup) in the round of 16 with a 2-0 victory, but succumbing to Nigeria in a 1-1 draw after extra time, losing 2-4 in a penalty shootout.
Following their defeat by Nigeria, coach Broos expressed, “Football can be harsh, especially when you see the performance my team put in, and when you lose in penalties and don’t make it to the final. It’s hard to digest. We played a very good match.”
As for the Democratic Republic of Congo (former champions in 1968 as Congo-Kinshasa and in 1974 as Zaire, also clinching the third-place spots in 1998 and 2015 under their current name), they lost to Ivory Coast, the host, with a score of 0-1.
South Africa had previously defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 on September 12 last year in a friendly match.
The match to determine the third and fourth positions was closely contested, with both teams attacking and having several opportunities to take the lead. However, luck was not on their side, leading to a direct penalty shootout. South Africa missed their first penalty through Teboho Mokoena, before Chancey Mbemba missed Congo’s fifth penalty that could have sealed the match in their favor. Mimicking this, Mishaak Elia missed the final penalty, resulting in South Africa emerging victorious.
The “Bafana Bafana” team secured their second African Nations Championship bronze medal after claiming it for the first time in the 2000 edition held in Ghana and Nigeria.
