SAN PEDRO, IVORY COAST – JANUARY 30: Team South Africa during the Total Energies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 match between Morocco and South Africa at Stade Laurent Pokou on January 30, 2024 in San Pedro, Ivory Coast. (Photo by Segun Ogunfeyitimi/Gallo Images),
Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena has given their Africa Cup of Nations ambitions a boost after knocking out the continent’s number one ranked side, Morocco in the last 16.
Mokoena played a big part in Bafana’s 2-0 win over the Atlas Lions on Tuesday afternoon in the round of 16 as his ability to anchor the midfield and link the attack caught Morocco by surprise and he capped off his performance with a stunning foul. in stops, as he was named Man of the Match.
The current edition of the Afcon looks to be in favor with the top five teams all out of the tournament after Morocco joined defending champions Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt out of the tournament.
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Mokoena says they know the top five countries are currently out of the tournament and it is up to Bafana and other nations to seize the opportunity.
“Honestly, there are no expectations from us, we will take it one game at a time, because this tournament we can all see, nobody can say who will win it,” Mokoena told a press conference.
“The top five teams in Africa are all out, so it’s up to us or other teams to take the trophy. In 2019 we reached the quarter-finals, it’s no surprise to South Africans that the quarter-finals are new to us.
“So we have to take it one step higher, we have to take the national team to a better place than where we found it, that’s our aim and our goal as a team and we’ll see,” he added.
Bafana have a great chance to reach the final as they face Cape Verde, who are ranked 73rd in FIFA (14th in Africa), in the quarter-finals.
And should Bafana reach the semi-finals, they will face the other quarter-final winner between Nigeria and Angola, who both have a rivalry with South Africa.
The Super Eagles narrowly beat South Africa 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2019 edition.
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