Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos believes two factors were to their undoing in their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations defeat to Mali in Group E on Tuesday night, while he also praised his players for their overall efforts.
Goals in the second half from Hamari Traore and Lassine Sinayoko proved too much for Bafana in their opening Afcon fixture, after Percy Tau had missed a penalty in the first half.
That moment came around the 20th minute after Evidence Makgopa was elbowed in the area but the Al Ahly star skied his spot kick over the bar.
The Belgian coach bemoaned how his charges came unstuck after a first half that showed plenty of promise as Les Aigles seized complete control following the break.
"First of all, I have to congratulate my team for the performance of today. I think we lost the game in two facts, first is missing the penalty and secondly is the physical power of the dual in the second half of Mali. Those reasons made us lose the game today," Broos told the media in a press conference after the game in Korhogo.
"But the performance of South Africa was good and I think if we scored the penalty then the game should be different but okay this is the comment after the game and it doesn't change the result," he added.
Southern African neighbours Namibia are up next for Bafana on Sunday, and a win against them is of the utmost importance in their quest to bag a spot in the knockout stages.
"You know, if you don't win that game, you are in a very bad situation and therefore it was very important to have a good result today.
"No, we play against Namibia, we have to win that game I think if we have a draw, it will be difficult to go through to the group stages.
"So, we have to win that game but we can win that game. It's another opponent and I tell that to the boys, didn't have the opportunity but I tell them to go play that game like you played it today. And I'm sure we can win the game if we do like we do today," Broos said.
Namibia upset Tunisia 1-0 in their first fixture so the group is open with two games still to go.Last Line
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