South Africa coach, Hugo Broos has given reasons why his team was defeated by the Nigerian Super Eagles in the semi-final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Wednesday.
Broos, who insisted that Nigeria has nothing in terms of chances in the first half, noted that the Bafana Bafana could have qualified for the AFCON final if they scored a goal from the three chances they had before the end of the 90 minutes.
“When you see the performance of my team today and then there is penalties and you lose the game, you are not in the final, it’s hard to accept that, because we played a very good game today,” Broos said at his post-match press conference.
“I think we were the best team in the 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 is us going to the final and not Nigeria.”
Recall that Nigeria defeated South Africa 4-2 via penalty shootout in the semi-final clash.
Man of the Match Stanley Nwabali saved two penalties during the shootout.
The match had ended in a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.
Jose Peseiro’s side will face the host nation Ivory Coast in the AFCON final on Sunday.