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2023 Africa Cup of Nations
Group E
South Africa v Namibia
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium
Korhogo, Ivory Coast
Sunday, 21 January 2024
Kick-off is at 22h00
South Africa will look to get their
2023 Africa Cup of Nations challenge up and running when they take on neighbours Namibia at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium on Sunday, January 21.
Bafana Bafana opened their campaign in Ivory Coast with a 2-0 defeat to Mali on January 16 when second-half goals from Hamari Traore (60') and Lassine Sinayoko (66') took the Eagles to the top of Group E.
Hugo Broos' side were made to pay for not taking their chances, which included a missed penalty from Percy Tau in the first half and they bring up the rear in the group with a minus-two goal difference.
Suggested photo: Percy Tau of South Africa
The Brave Warriors pulled off one of the surprises of the tournament as they beat Tunsia 1-0 in Korhogo earlier that same evening courtesy of Deon Hotto's 88th-minute winner.
The Eagles of Carthage were well below their standards and looked at their brightest in the opening stages of both halves, but a sustained spell of pressure from Collin Benjamin's side gave them their reward at the death.
South Africa have the upper hand in their head-to-head meetings and they've yet to lose to Namibia in seven attempts. The two Southern African rivals have clashed twice before on the continent's biggest stage, with Bafana Bafana winning 4-1 in the 1998 edition and 1-0 at AFCON 2019. Their last two encounters (both friendlies) ended in 1-1 and 0-0 draws.
Tau must shake off his spot-kick disappointment as he is crucial to the team's hopes of advancing from the group stages. The Al Ahly winger had an opportunity to make amends on 35 minutes when he was sent through on goal by a long ball over the top, but Djigui Diarra turned away his angled shot.
The South Africans know Peter Shalulille all too well as he has tormented Premier Division defences for the last three and a half seasons. The Mamelodi Sundowns striker scored in all four of the Brave Warriors' matches during the qualifying campaign, but he was forced to miss their last three outings of 2023 due to an injury.
Broos felt the missed penalty could have changed the context of the game against Mali, although he acknowledged that his players struggled to cope with the physicality of the Eagles in the second half.
"The performance of South Africa was good, and I think if we scored the penalty, we would have been good," the Belgian said.
"They were more physical than the first half. This was the major difference. We lost a lot of balls and mostly because of the physical conditioning of Mali was better than us. So this is the difference and this is where Mali was able to change the game, not at the football playing level."
Benjamin admitted that many had written Namibia off even before a ball had been kicked and he dedicated the famous victory over the North Africans to the Namibian people.
"It's an ecstatic feeling that I can't describe. I am proud to be Namibian and be a coach of these players," he said. "We were never really given a chance. We are just happy that we could go on the field and play a good match and win.
"I can only imagine what is happening in the streets of Namibia right now. This victory is dedicated to them. Tonight, of course we celebrate but tomorrow it is back to normal. Back to grinding and working hard as a team and for our people back home."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Meetings)
Matches - 5
South Africa - 2
Namibia - 0
Draws - 3
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