Bafana legend on how to win Afcon

Bafana Bafana have become local heroes again, thanks to a win over Cape Verde in the Afcon 2023 quarter-final game last Saturday night in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.

Remember the goalkeeper in the 1996 afcon-winning team? His name is Andre Arendse and he has some advice to offer.

BAFANA BAFANA BEAT CAPE VERDE TO QUALIFY FOR THE AFCON 2023 SEMIFINALS

The game ended goalless after 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time, where Williams delivered a staggering save to deny Gilson Tavares a winner in the 88th minute.

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Bafana went on to win the penalty kicks 2-1, a very unusual score in the shootouts, right? Well, no goalkeeper in a major tournament has ever saved four out of five penalties before.

Coach Hugo Broos admitted that the tension of the match caused him to age a few more years, but Man of the Match Williams saved the night.

“Let’s say six hours ago I was 71, now I’m 75,” Broos said as quoted by iDiskiTimes.

“It was a stressful game, certainly the penalties. You know what happens when you have to take penalties, it’s a very special situation for the players,” the Bafana mentor added.

“Sometimes you do a little game after training, taking penalties and nearly no player misses a penalty but you see today what happened, not only with us but also the players from Cape Verde. That means, we can be happy, but players want to get a penalty. We were, not lucky because we had a very good keeper today. If you can save four penalties, this is not luck anymore. You can save one, but four, this is not luck.

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“He did not only that, he saved us two minutes before the end with a player that was alone in front of him. Yes, he was Man of the match. I think we could choose nobody else because he is really Man of the Match,” the Bafana tactician concluded.

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ANDRE ARENDSE IMPRESSED

According to Arendse, Bafana needs to maintain its high work ethic and fighting spirit.

“Why shouldn’t we repeat that feat of 96? The team is working very hard at the Nations Cup. There is no doubt about that, you can see it,” the former goalkeeper said via FARPost.

“Hugo Broos is doing very good things with the team. When I watch the team play, if we take the ability and put it to one side for a second. I am seeing an attitude, a positive attitude on the field.

“I am seeing players who are never giving up on the field. That for me is what counts. That’s the kind of thing that is going to help them become successful.

“If you take performances and you take individual quality, we are probably up there with the best in Africa. We have players with flair, we have players who can play and who can direct,” Arendse concluded.

WATCH: Ronwen Williams saves four penalties!

Meanwhile, Bafana will battle the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the semifinals on Wednesday at 19:00.

You can find more articles from Siseko Gwegwe here.