AFCON: ‘Semi-final match will be different against Nigeria,’ says South African coach

The South African coach Hugo Bruce thinks his team will play Nigeria in the semi-finals in a different manner than Bafana Bafana did in their quarter-final encounter on Saturday against Cape Verde.

After a goalless 120 minutes, South Africa defeated Cape Verde 5-3 on penalties, with goalkeeper Ronwen Williams emerging as the hero of the night to send the Bafana Bafana to the Africa Cup of Nations semifinals.

For the first time since 2000, Bafana Bafana advanced to the semi-finals, where they will take on Nigeria, thanks to an outstanding four penalty saves by Williams.

Bruce told journalists at a post-match conference that the game against Nigeria would be an entirely different ‘kettle of fish.’

“The semi-final match will be different against Nigeria, which has good players like (Ademola) Lookman.

“We will not lose focus. The players will be in good condition, so we need to rest and recover to start our preparation,” he said.

He predicted a tough semi-final clash as he explained how the team came out aloft against Cape verde.

“When we got to the penalty shootout, it was a special thing for the players because, during training, they were scoring them.

“When we have a goalkeeper who stops four penalty kicks, this is not luck but a lot of hard work.

“There was a lot of pressure in the match. Everyone wanted to qualify.

“This match was unlike the previous ones. We did not show the same performance as we had in previous matches,” he said.

He also noted that not many people in South Africa believed in the team, saying that he was proud of what his boys had achieved so far.

“In spite of all the doubts, we believed in it, and the players believed in themselves as well.”