Hugo Broos, the head coach of South Africa, stated that his team is eager to play Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals in Côte d’Ivoire.
Broos said that they were motivated to make it to the semi-finals because of the nation’s recent AFCON performance, during a pre-match conference on Tuesday.”We are thrilled and inspired to be playing in the AFCON semi-finals tomorrow.”
“We succeeded in making South Africa a formidable team on the continent, even though it came as a surprise to a lot of people.Additionally, South Africa competed in the semifinals more than 20 years ago.
“Even more than that, we played in the finals, so what that means is that we have a lot of motivation,” he said.The Belgian tactician admitted to Nigeria’s quality but still maintained his confidence in his squad for the crucial game.
“We are playing against a good team tomorrow, number six in the ranking; that means a lot for our players.“Nigeria has had the upper hand on South Africa in recent meetings, but it’s not a worrying situation for us.
“For many, Nigeria are the favourite to win, but that’s not always the case in football.“We are confident and motivated to try and ensure it doesn’t happen, and South Africa will play in the final for the first time in 20 years,” he said.
(NAN)