It was a tight third-place match between the two sides, who locked horns at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Cote D'Ivoire to decide the winner of the 2023 AFCON bronze medal.
South Africa lost their AFCON semifinal match to Nigeria. The Bafana Bafana fought till the end against the Super Eagles but finally gave up in the penalties. Chippa United and Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali was the unlikely hero. Nwabali saved two penalties from Mokeona and Makgopa to hand the Super Eagles a 4-2 shootout victory over the Bafana Bafana.
DR Congo locked horns with tournament hosts Cote D'Ivoire in their semifinal match. A lone goal from Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastian Haller in the 61st minute was enough to see the Elephants edge pass the Leopards.
Despite their semifinal hoodoos, South Africa and DR Congo had a chance to rake home a silverware from the tournament as they cross swords in the third-place playoff.
It was a tightly-contested duel as both sides battled to dominate proceedings. South Africa made some brilliant attacking moves in DR Congo's area but failed to nail home a clear chance. The Leopards, on the other hand, were also deeply involved in the game going forward. Slightly losing possession to the Bafana Bafana, DR Congo relied on counters to threaten South Africa's defenses. The two sides had limited touches of the ball in each others half as the first half ended in a 0-0 draw
South Africa were more dominant in the second half. The Bafana mounted more pressure on DR Congo but were still struggling up-front. Meanwhile, the Leopards also made intrusive attacking efforts on the Bafana Bafana's area but were still far from a good chance to end the dragging goal deadlock. With over 60 minutes played, it was still barren. Both sides made some substitutions to twist the dynamics of the game and take advantage but the goal deadlock was yet to be broken with 10 minutes of regulation time left to play.
It ended 0-0 at regulation time and extra time. The match was dragged into penalties where South Africa won 6-5 to emerge third-place winners in the tournament.
South Africa lost their AFCON semifinal match to Nigeria. The Bafana Bafana fought till the end against the Super Eagles but finally gave up in the penalties. Chippa United and Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali was the unlikely hero. Nwabali saved two penalties from Mokeona and Makgopa to hand the Super Eagles a 4-2 shootout victory over the Bafana Bafana.
DR Congo locked horns with tournament hosts Cote D'Ivoire in their semifinal match. A lone goal from Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastian Haller in the 61st minute was enough to see the Elephants edge pass the Leopards.
Despite their semifinal hoodoos, South Africa and DR Congo had a chance to rake home a silverware from the tournament as they cross swords in the third-place playoff.
It was a tightly-contested duel as both sides battled to dominate proceedings. South Africa made some brilliant attacking moves in DR Congo's area but failed to nail home a clear chance. The Leopards, on the other hand, were also deeply involved in the game going forward. Slightly losing possession to the Bafana Bafana, DR Congo relied on counters to threaten South Africa's defenses. The two sides had limited touches of the ball in each others half as the first half ended in a 0-0 draw
South Africa were more dominant in the second half. The Bafana mounted more pressure on DR Congo but were still struggling up-front. Meanwhile, the Leopards also made intrusive attacking efforts on the Bafana Bafana's area but were still far from a good chance to end the dragging goal deadlock. With over 60 minutes played, it was still barren. Both sides made some substitutions to twist the dynamics of the game and take advantage but the goal deadlock was yet to be broken with 10 minutes of regulation time left to play.
It ended 0-0 at regulation time and extra time. The match was dragged into penalties where South Africa won 6-5 to emerge third-place winners in the tournament.