Head coach of the South African head coach, Hugo Broos believes the third place tie against DR Congo is a special game following the impressive display of his lads at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
He however, said the fight for a bronze medal will be more of a mental battle than anything.
South Africa face Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, February 10 in Abidjan in a third and fourth place play-off after both sides were eliminated in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
According to the Belgian tactician who guided South Africa to their first semi-final since 2000, the key to clinching a third place will be in how they mentally recover from the heart-breaking semi-final loss.
“We played a very good game against Nigeria. It was a great performance and we showed that we are a great team again. When you exit after 120 minutes, it’s always a huge disappointment. When you play so well, the disappointment is so big. The game tomorrow (third place) is special. It depends a bit on which team will be mentally recovered because also for DRC, it was difficult to lose like that”.
Bafana Bafana were edged 4-2 by Nigeria after a dramatic 1-1 draw in Bouake while the Leopards were edged 1-0 after a hard-fought encounter with the hosts, Cote d’Ivoire. Kick off at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny.