South Africa national football team head coach Hugo Broos says the fight for a bronze medal in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 will be more of a mental battle than anything.
South Africa face Democratic Republic of Congo this evening Abidjan at 11.00pm east Africa time in a third and fourth place play-off after both sides were eliminated in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
The match will be broadcast on KBC TV.
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 good, the disappointment is so big. The game today 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.
Meanwhile his DR Congo opposite number Sebastien Desabre feels like dejavu when he leads his charges at Felix Houphoet Boigny stadium.
“My most beautiful memory in this enclosure is the semi-final against l’Africa that we won with ASEC Mimosas, during the Coupe de Côte d’Ivoire, about ten years ago . I won’t hide it from you, I can’t wait to be there and see the improved renovations,” said the French tactician.
For Sébastien Desabre, this small final will also be an opportunity to leave the competition favorably: “We have to leave on a positive note. We have come a long way, we have shown good things and we do not want a grain of sand to derail the machine. We will give everything to bring this medal home and present it to the Congolese people who are passionate about football.
