Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says his team would be advancing to the final if they had converted their chances during the heartbreaking semifinal loss to Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The match ended 1-1 in regulation time, with both teams scoring from the penalty spot in the second half. Tebogo Mokoena’s 90th minute spot-kick cancelled out William Troost-Ekong opener.
Broos’ charges were eventually defeated in the penalty shootout, with the Super Eagles converting four spot-kicks to Bafana’s two.
Percy Tau and Evidence Makgopa were guilty of the missed chances in the first half, with both players failing to test the Nigeria’s goalkeeper.
“Football can be hard. When you see the performance of my team today and then there is penalties and you you lose the game, you’re not in the final, it’s hard to accept that, because we played a very good game today.
“I think we were the best team first half, we had the best chances. Nigeria didn’t have one chance, no, nothing. Second half, 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,” said Broos during the post-match press conference.
Broos says he was proud of the team’s performance against Nigeria.
“Ok, that can happen in football. 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. The disappointment is this, but the proudness is that.
“What they performed, not only today, I think you have to be proud as a coach. Yes, it’s a defeat and you see you played a very bad game against Cape Verde and you with penalties and today you play a very good game against Nigeria and you lose with penalties.
“That’s also football. But again, we have only to think about the way we played this AFCON. And I think everyone knows South Africa as a good playing team and that is the most important.”
