‘Bafana must forget about Morocco’ and think ahead
Goal-hero in their stunning African Cup of Nations (Afcon) last-16 upset over Morocco, Evidence Makgopa, says it’s time for Bafana Bafana to forget about that victory.
Instead, the 23-year-old striker says they are fully focused on Saturday night’s quarter-final clash with Cape Verde (10pm) at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Ivory Coast.
Makgopa opened the scoring in the 2-0 win over Morocco that booked South Africa a place in the last eight, but tells Safa’s media team: “We have to just keep our heads down and be focused on the next one and forget about the previous one.
“I think that’s going to help us.”Asked whether it will be a completely new start for Bafana, he says: “Not completely a new start, we have to improve on the previous performance.”
While Bafana finished second to Mali in their group which also included Namibia and Tunisia, Cape Verde topped Group B which included Ghana, Egypt and Mozambique.
With former Manchester United flop Bebe, Ryan Mendes – who tops their scoring charts with two to date – and Sporting Lisbon’s Jovane Cabral leading their attack, the Blue Sharks beat Mauritania 1-0 in the last 16.
South Africa and Cape Verde have crossed swords five times, with both teams winning twice and one match ending in a draw.
The last time they met was in 2017 in a World Cup qualifier, with a Garry Rodrigues double earning Cape Verde a 2-1 win.
The winner of this match will face the winner of Friday night’s first quarter-final at 7pm between Angola, whose forward Gelson Dala is one goal behind the tournament’s leading goalscorer Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue (five goals), and giants Nigeria.
DR Congo and Guinea lock horns in Friday night’s other clash at 10pm for the rights to face either Mali or hosts Ivory Coast, who will do battle at 7pm on Saturday, in the semis.
‘Bafana must forget about Morocco’
Weekend’s other quarter-final fixtures
Friday night (7pm): Nigeria vs Angola, (10pm): DR Congo vs Guinea
Tomorrow (7pm): Mali vs Ivory Coast
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za