Euphemistically, Bafana Bafana impressed in the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morroco, a tournament widely regarded as the continent’s World Cup. SA won two of their three group stages but lost against Cameroon where it mattered the most, the round of 16. Some pundits are saying coach Hugo Broos must go, and this is what you always expect when people are overcome by emotions and don’t apply logic.
Some individuals even reduced the national assets to some form of domestic issue, saying they could not even sleep and wives had to intervene. Broos raised the expectations of South Africans when most people had lost interest in the senior national soccer team and stopped attending their matches. He arrived, put together a team, and results came.
The vibe was back, and people started seeing that Bafana were performing beyond expectations. Bombing out of the Afcon after the group stages was disappointing because expectations of winning that showpiece were high. Bafana had come back with a bronze medal for finishing third in the same tournament in 2023 in Abidjan, where they defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo 6-5 on penalties.
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Fans were optimistic Bafana will go for silver or gold this time. That is what logic says. Some people say if only Bafana had lost in the finals – only to find we did not look at the preparedness of other nations.
Bafana have, in fact, shocked other countries by their performance, more than they did the South Africans. Countries such as Egypt began to realise there was a problem. They were content sitting back and waiting for Bafana to attack.
That indicated respect. Cameroon did the same. Bafana play transitional football.
In that sense, I have no issue with them losing to Cameroon. Bafana went there through winning games in qualification for the event, not on a silver platter.
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