Ghana manager Charles Akonnor has revealed what surprised him about Bafana Bafana in their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Thursday evening.

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The Ghanaians battled for most of the first half against South Africa on Thursday, but were able to go ahead four minutes after the break through Ajax Amsterdam striker Mohammed Kudus.

Bafana equalised just three minutes later thanks to a goal from Brighton & Hove Albion's Percy Tau, with the match ending in a draw, securing the Black Stars a place at the upcoming AFCON in Cameroon.

Speaking after the game, Akonnor revealed that his team simply wanted to avoid defeat, and admitted he and his players did not expect Bafana to line up with three centre-backs.

"Going into the game, we knew what was expected of us," he said, according to Goal.

"We knew the strength of the South Africans, how they would play and attack, so we were well prepared to play without the ball. Team organisation was key for us.

"We came here with the idea that if we could even go with a draw, we would be fine. We didn't need to lose and we were able to achieve that.

"In the early minutes of the game, we struggled because we realised they came with a three-back and they put a lot of pressure on us.

"We weren't ready for that. Slowly, we had to do a tactical change in the process of the game. We managed to go in the first half but intended the second half, we discussed a lot how we should approach the game and we were doing very well in that sense."

Click through the gallery below to see every team that has already qualified for AFCON 2021!