29 March 2023 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) wishes to congratulate Bafana Bafana for qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire in January next year.
We at SAFA are proud of coach Hugo Broos and his players’ achievement after all of their hard work in the last few months. They have worked tirelessly and will now line up against the continent’s best national teams in Côte d’Ivoire after beating Liberia 2-1 in Monrovia on Tuesday night (28 March 2023) to qualify for the AFCON.
The Nation sighed with relief as Broos’ charges withstood the pressure during this tense qualifier to secure their tickets to the continental tournament.
Bafana Bafana were the first to get their name up on the stadium scoreboard after Zakhele Lepasa did well to shake off the attentions of the Liberia defenders to put the visitors in the lead in the 18th minute. Lepasa beat Liberia goalkeeper Tommy Songo’s with a low shot after waltzing his way into the area.
But the home side drew level after captain William Jebor beat SA goalkeeper Ronwen Williams with a long-range effort in the 34th minute.
The two teams went to the halftime break still deadlocked at 1-1.
The South African senior national team restored the advantage when Mihlali Mayambela beat Songo’s to put coach Broos’ charges back in the lead in the 53rd minute.
They held on to the lead to ensure qualification for the continental tournament.
We send our warmest congratulations to the whole team after a fantastic achievement.