Abidjan, Cote D’ Ivoire, Jan. 17, GNA – Hugo Broos the Head Coach of South Africa national team believes the penalty miss by Percy Tau in their loss against Mali in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations contributed to their defeat.
South Africa were humbled to a 2-0 defeat after a positive start in the first half, that lacked the all-important finishing touch.
Broos, speaking after the game said the missed penalty by Tau and the physicality that the Malians came with in the second half contributed to the loss.
“The performance of South Africa was good, and I think if we scored the penalty, we would have been good. They were more physical than the first half. This was the major difference.
“We lost a lot of balls and mostly because of the physical conditioning of Mali was better than us. So, this is the difference, and this is where Mali was able to change the game, not at the football playing level,” said Broos.
“The coach of Mali saw what he had to do, and they were stronger on duels in the second half and we couldn’t play our game anymore.
“We lost the ball where we shouldn’t have lost it but then again, I think the performance was good but just not good enough” concluded a dejected Broos.
South Africa would next play neighbours Namibia who secured a historic 1-0 victory over Tunisia on Sunday at the Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly in Korhogo.
GNA