Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana star player Themba Zwane is one of the top scorers at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament that is taking place in Ivory Coast.
The dribbling wizard netted a brace against the Brave Warriors of Namibia on Sunday to become a contender for the tournament’s Golden Boot accolade.
His two goals, together with strikes from Percy Tau and Thapelo Maseko, have resuscitated South Africa’s chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament.
Bafana defeated Namibia 4-0 after they faltered in their opening match against Mali last week, losing 2-0.
The win against Namibia took South Africa to position two in the group with three points, one point behind Mali, who are currently occupying the number-one spot with four points.
The former PSL Player of the Season, PSL Footballer of the Season, and CAF Champions League winner will be looking to increase his tally when Bafana lock horns with Tunisia on Wednesday evening.
Must-win encounter
The encounter could result in one of the two countries packing their bags and returning home after the first round, which will be embarrassing considering the stature of the two nations.
Baghdad Bounedjah, the captain of Algeria, is second with three goals so far, behind Emilio Nsue of Equatorial Guinea, who has five strikes to his credit.
The National Thunder, as Equatorial Guinea is known, outdid themselves when they qualified for the next round after topping Group A.
The group also consisted of African giants Nigeria and Ivory Coast, who have had to scramble for second and third place, respectively.
Ivory Coast, who are the hosts of the tournament, were gobsmacked after a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea on Monday night, where Nsue grabbed two goals to increase his tally.
Top scorers at Afcon:
- Emilio Nsue: five goals
- Baghdad Bounedjah: three goals
- Themba Zwane: two goals
- Lamine Camara: two goals
- Gelson Dala: two goals
