Hugo Broos, the head coach of South African senior men’s natiobal team and player, Siyanda Xulu faced pressmen ahead of Saturday’s third place match with trhe Democratic Republic of Congo.
Both teams have a defeat each ahead of their last game of the tournament which is deciding match.
Broos was full of praises for his players as he expect the team to end the tournament on a high note.
“Of course let me go back to Wednesday’s game when we played a very great game against Nigeria. It was a great performance from South Africa. The players are a bit tired after playing 120 minutes. Tomorrow’s game will be very tough with the team with mentaly and psychological strength getting the upper hand.
“I have said it before and I will say it again, I am very proud of my team and I am proud to be their coach,” the Belgian said on Friday, 9 February 2024.
“They’ve had a great run in this tournament and have played very, very well. Yes, we did not get to the final as we wanted, but that is football. I am still very, very proud and we continue to fight as we take on DR Congo tomorrow.
“I always try and mix young players with experienced players,” Broos continued. “It was my goal to look into the future as well and think about who will be at the next AFCON or World Cup. We can compete with the best in the world and in Africa, and this team will continue building.
“We played a very good game against Nigeria. It was a great performance and we showed that we are a great team again. When you exit after 120 minutes, it’s always a huge disappointment. When you play so good, the disappointment is so big. The game tomorrow is special. It depends a bit on which team will be mentally recovered because also for DRC, it was difficult to lose like that”.
Defender Siyanda Xulu said the AFCON is not over for Bafana Bafana with the bronze medal game against DR Congo still to come.
“We still have to play and we have work to do,” he said. “We won’t stop until the final whistle. We are a unit, a family, a team that sticks together and we will go out there and give our best.
“We had our own goal as a team. We wanted to go as far as we could. We know very well of our quality and especially from the coach who is one person who has always believed in us as a team. To go this far was our objective. Reaching the semi-final is a dream. Yes, we wanted to take it home, but we couldn’t, but we can be proud of the performance” said Xulu.
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