South Africa’s head coach, Hugo Broos, expressed disappointment despite his team’s strong performance against Nigeria in the semi-finals encounter of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Although South Africa lost 2-4 on penalty kicks, Broos believed his side played better and deserved to win the game.
Broos, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday, emphasized the quality of his team’s performance.
“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 got the best chances, Nigeria didn’t have any chance.”
Broos highlighted his team’s resilience in the second half.
“In the second half, they had few chances which resulted in a goal and we changed something tactically, and we came back.”
He insisted that his team created more chances, adding that if they had scored, they would have been in the final and not Nigeria.
Despite the disappointment, Broos commended his team’s overall performance in the tournament:
“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.”
South Africa will now face DR Congo in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
| Punch News
