Bafana Bafana have covered themselves in glory by reaching the last four at the Africa Cup of Nations, and there is a slim chance of rounding out their campaign with a bronze medal on Saturday night.
Many sceptics have heralded Bafana’s fairy tale run to the semi-finals as a false dawn, but nobody can deny that the team, despite numerous pre-tournament setbacks, has exceeded all expectations.
South Africans found it difficult not to get swept along by euphoria, especially after Bafana’s landmark 2-0 win over Fifa World Cup semi-finalists Morocco, the odds-on favourites at the time.
It is now history that they lost to arch-rivals Nigeria in their semi-final clash on Wednesday night.
Overwhelming pride
However, there was so much to admire about the stout-hearted South Africans that overall, the pride outweighed the disappointment after the defeat.
Much of the admiration stems from the fact that coach Hugo Broos has imposed a clear style of play on the hitherto mundane Bafana Bafana.
The result has been that a team of no-hopers had a terrific run at the Afcon in Ivory Coast.
Apart from defeating the mighty Atlas Lions, Africa’s No 1-ranked team, they also held Africa’s No 3-ranked team, Tunisia, to a goalless draw.
Broos has emphasised that his tactics and team selections were geared to obtain results rather than producing crowd-pleasing football.
Over and above the team’s phenomenal results, Broos is confident that some of the players will attract interest from foreign-based clubs despite losing to Nigeria.
“They have shown they can play, and it is certainly a good thing for South African football if the interest is there again,” said Broos.
“I really think for some players the door is now open to Europe.
‘No fear’
“We are a good team, and that means we don’t need to have to fear anymore when we are playing big African countries. We are good, and we must believe in that.
“It is something I have always said to the players: ‘Believe in yourselves, you have the qualities’
“We had to change some things and they did that, and that is why I am so proud of these guys.
“It is a big satisfaction that we are not playing little (lower ranking) countries and winning games
“We beat Morocco twice (once in Afcon qualifying), and we played a fantastic game against the Ivory Coast in November in Abidjan. Our performances here at the Afcon have been very good.”
Bafana will now turn their attention to Saturday’s third-place play-off against the Democratic Republic of Congo (10pm kick-off).
They will look to bow out in style by winning the bronze-medal contest and finishing the competition as the third-best team on the continent.
If South Africa does triumph, it will wipe out any thoughts of a false dawn.
IOL Sport