Bafana Bafana have been crowned COSAFA Cup champions after defeating Senegal on penalties at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday evening.
COSAFA Cup
Result: Senegal 0-0 South Africa (Bafana won 5-4 on penalties)
Date: 18 July 2021
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
The South Africans went with the same starting line-up that started the semi-final against Mozambique as Victor Letsoalo looked to add his four goals upfront.
It was an evenly contested affair in the early stages of the encounter, although both sides struggled to carve out clear-cut chances in the opening 20 minutes of the encounter.
Letsoalo was presented with a chance to break the deadlock after 30 minutes after latching onto Mkhulise's well-weighted pass but the Bafana striker could only fired into the side-netting.
There game did get a bit spicy in the final stages of the first half, which ended with Senegal coach Joseph Koto being sent to the stands after dissent towards the referee.
Have a look at some of the Bafana coaches since 1992...
After a quiet start to the second half, Senegal nearly bagged the opening goal against the run of play through Mohammed Ba, who unleashed snapshot that was kept out by Veli Mothwa.
Senegal shot-stopper Pape Ndiaye had to be alert two minutes later after keeping out a header from Njabulo Ngcobo, who was looking to bag his second goal for the national side.
With time running out for sides to find a winning goal, coach Morena Ramoreboli looked to his bench for the final 12 minutes as Ethan Brooks and Lebohang Maboe were introduced.
However, neither nation were able to find a breakthrough in the remaining stages of the second, forcing the players to take on another extra 30 minutes to determine the winner
Bafana dominated extra-time from start to finish but were let down by their decision making and had to deal with dreaded penalty shoot-out, but they held their nerve to triumph and claim their first title since 2018.
Here's how they lined up:
South Africa: Mothwa, Mobbie, De Reuck, Ngcobo, Ngobeni, Dube, Maart, Letsoalo, Mkhulise, Saleng, Sithebe.
Subs: Vyver, Sibanyoni, Mphahlele, Konqobe, Maboe, Malinga, Brooks, Sibiya.
