So often the third-place matches in big tournaments are just there for spek en boontjies, but when Bafana Bafana tackle DR Congo on Saturday night at 10pm there will be more than that on the line.

Coach Hugo Broos’ South African team deserves to leave the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast with a medal around their necks even if it is bronze.

Hardly given a chance to make it out of their group at the start of the campaign, captain Ronwen Williams and his teammates made their country proud by not only making it to the play-offs, but beating the top-ranked side in the continent, Morocco, in the last 16, before klapping Cape Verde to make the semis.

Proud: SA coach Hugo Broos. Picture :Gavin Barker, BackpagePix

That’s when their quest for gold ended on Wednesday night when they were beaten by Nigeria on penalties after the semi-final had ended 1-1 after extra time.

Bafana did, however, put SA soccer back on the world stage, with Broos saying: “It’s a big disappointment for everyone because we feel we played a very good game at Afcon, but we are very proud of the players. What they did, how they fought, you have to be proud as a coach …

“I know that everyone knows South Africa now as a good team and that is important.”

Bafana lost to Nigeria on penalties in the Afcon semi-final. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix

As they gear up to face Congo, who lost 1-0 to Mali in the other semifinal, Williams adds: “The team deserves to be in the final, but we need to recover and on Saturday we want to finish on a positive note.

“We’ve done good work and the cherry on top will be to finish on a positive note on  Saturday, we will be fully focused. We’re still wearing the South Africa badge and we’re still at service and hopefully we can get the bronze medal.”

dudley.carstens@inl.co.za

Daily Voice

We fought our fight! And will continue doing so till the end! Thank you again South Africa for standing with us throughout #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 #AFCON2023 #BafanaPride ❤️🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/XzfTUufmya
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) February 7, 2024

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Watch VideoBafana Bafana deserve an Afcon medal, even if it’s bronze

Bafana Bafana deserve an Afcon medal, even if it’s bronze