Bafana Bafana settle for bronze at AFCON tournament

Bafana Bafana played their last match at the exhilarating African Cup of Nations(AFCON) soccer tournament, in Côte D’Ivoire, and walked away with a bronze medal in the third-place play-off, after defeating the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) in a penalty shootout, on Saturday evening of 10 February.

It was a bitter ending for the South African squad who fell short of playing in the finals after a loss to Nigeria last week.

However, Bafana Bafana went into the game with a clear mission to prove that they are amongst the best in African football, also to end their participation in the AFCON tournament with a memorable bang.

The game went into penalties after ending on a 0-0 draw in the full 90 minutes of play. It was Bafana Bafana’s trusted number one goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams, who saved the day for the South African team. Williams saved a crucial penalty in the sudden death phase of the shootout and won the game for his teammates. The final score was 6-5, in favour of Bafana Bafana.

Williams broke the previous record kept by former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, Andre Arendse, by maintaining his fifth clean sheet in a single AFCON tournament.

Bafana Bafana head coach, Hugo Broos, expressed pride in his team for the resilience they have displayed since the early group stages of the tournament.