Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane has given kudos to Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos and his assistant Helman Mkhalele after their massive 2-0 win against Morocco at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday night.
South Africa have now booked their place in the quarterfinals of the tournament, which is currently taking place in Ivory Coast. They will be hoping to continue with their momentum when they face Cape Verde on Saturday, where a win will guarantee them a ticket to the semi-finals.
Mosimane, who now coaches Abha FC in the Saudi Arabian league, also reserved a special mention for Teboho Mokoena. The midfield anchorman scored one of the contenders for Goal of the Tournament when he sliced his curling free-kick past a bemused Yassine Bounou, Morocco’s goalkeeper, in the 95th minute.
Teboho Mokoena, what a player!
Said a mesmerised Mosimane after the match: “Teboho Mokoena! What a player! The free kick he scored was just the icing on the cake! He stepped on every grass leaf on the pitch. Bossing the midfield. No arguments, SA is one of the most tactically disciplined teams in the tournament. No frills, just grinding. Credit goes to Hugo Broos and Helman Mkhalele. Their team works very hard and is tactically disciplined. One step at a time, we still have a road to travel, feet on the ground, but we can celebrate this hard-earned victory.”
Against all odds, Bafana have outdone themselves at the tournament, and Tuesday’s victory over Morocco will have boosted the team’s self-belief and confidence ahead of their next opponents.
The Atlas Lions made history when they finished fourth at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Morocco’s starting line-up was teeming with superstars such as captain Sofyan Amrabat who plies his trade in the English Premiership for giants Manchester United, and Achraf Hakimi of PSG in the French League 1. On Tuesday, the Spanish-born Hakimi missed a penalty against Bafana.
Big names in Morocco team
Nayef Aguerd (West Ham United), Azz-Eddine Ounahi (Olympique Marseille), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich) and Selim Amallah (Valencia FC) are other big-name Morocco players.
But the South African showed them very little respect, with Mokoena and Siphephelo “Yaya” Sithole pulling strings in the heart of midfield. Evidence Makgopa opened the scoring in the second half when he broke the off-side trap and swept the ball past the goalkeeper. Mokoena hammered the final nail in injury time.
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