South Africa's heroics in slaying giants such as Morocco and Tunisia, drew admiration from Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro, according to Bafana mentor Hugo Broos.
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Peseiro had informed the Belgian that Bafana posed a greater challenge to the Super Eagles than eventual Afcon champions Ivory Coast.
Nigeria had lost 2-1 to host nation, Ivory Coast in the final on Sunday and went on to pick up their silver medals.
"Certainly, against Nigeria, they didn't know what to do. They were surprised and I saw the coach (on Sunday) after the final and he came to me and said, 'You did it very well against us, you were more a threat (than Ivory Coast), it was for us a surprise the way you played'," Broos told Marawa Sports Worldwide.
"So, this is what I want with them and when you can do that, because this is a team with great potential and let's hope that we can succeed every time playing like this," he added.
Against the Super Eagles, Mamelodi Sundowns star Khuliso Mudau could have won the game for Bafana at the very end of the 90 minutes, but skied a rebound from Stanley Nwabali when he had the goal at his mercy.
South Africa went on to lose the match on penalties, being their second shootout out of three at Afcon.
With Bafana meeting Nigeria in the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Belgian has backed his men to go all the way to North America.
"Yes, and maybe not sure as yet, but I believe we have a very big chance to be at the World Cup in 2026, we can make it," Broos said.
At the aforementioned qualifiers kicked off late last year, Bafana opened their campaign with a win over Benin but lost on the road to Rwanda and are currently second in Group C.
Bafana returned home to a heroes welcome, touching down in South Africa early in the morning on Wednesday.
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