AFCON: SEMI FINALS LOSS TO NIGERIA DIFFICULT TO TAKE, SAYS S'AFRICA COACH

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Hugo Broos, the head coach of South Africa, believes his team performed better against Nigeria on Wednesday, even if they lost 2-4 on penalties.

The Bafana Bafana team rallied from a goal down to force extra time in their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals match.

In response to their loss, Broos stated that his team performed significantly better and should have won.

“Football can be hard sometimes, when you look at the performance of my team today (Wednesday), and then there were the penalty kicks. Then you lose the penalty shootout, and you are not in the finals.

“It’s hard to accept that because we played a very good game today. I think we were the best team in the first half; we had the best chances, but Nigeria didn’t have any chance.

“In the second half, they had few chances, which resulted in a goal, and we changed something tactically, and we came back,” he said.

He insisted that his team created more chances, adding that if they had scored, they would have been in the final and not Nigeria.

The Belgian, however, hailed his team for what has been a great tournament for them.

“It’s a big disappointment for everyone, and we believe we played a very good game, not just today but throughout the tournament.

“I’m proud of my players. The disappointment is in not being in the final, but the pride is in having performed well,” he said.

Meanwhile, South Africa will now face DR Congo in the third-place playoff on Saturday.