Patrice Motsepe is a very contented man. The Confederation of African Football president is overseeing one of the best organised editions of the Africa Cup of Nations. The icing on the cake for the Mamelodi Sundowns owner is that his team is providing ten players in the South Africa national football team that have qualified for the semifinals of AFCON 2023 in Ivory Coast. It’s the first time in 14 years the 1996 continental kings have made it this far.
Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana are gathering steam as the tournament progresses. From the depths of falling 0-2 to Mali in the opening match of group E, they saw off Qatar 2022 semifinalists Morocco 2-0 in the round of 16 and last night eclipsed dangerous Cape Verde in a riveting penalty shoot out. The star of the show was Mamelodi Sundowns keeper Rowen Williams who stopped, not one, not two, not three, but four spot kicks.
The reward for Bafana Bafana and Confederation of Southern African Football (Cosafa) generally, is a mouthwatering semifinal against tournament favourites Nigeria. Wednesday’s showdown will be a test for African based players. For while Jose Poseiro’s Super Eagles are almost exclusively based in Europe and the Middle East, Broos’ Bafana Bafana all feature for African teams with Egypt based Percy Tau the standout foreign based player.
Democratic Republic of Congo meet hosts Ivory Coast in the second semifinal after the Elephants overcame two sending offs to eject Mali 2-1 after extra time. Sebastian Desabre’s twice winners are proving to be one of the surprise packages of the tournament. After reaching the knock out rounds without winning a single group E game, the 1968 and 1972 AFCON winners upset record seven time champions Egypt in a penalty shoot out before pulverising Guinea 3-1.
AFCON 2023 has been hailed in many quarters as the year of the underdog, but seasoned analysts will tell you that the more game changes, the more it remains in the hands of continental aristocrats. All four semifinalists are previous African champions. Nigeria has won the biennial showpiece thrice while both Ivory Coast and DR Congo have two titles to their name. South Africa will be hoping to add onto the single final they clinched in 1996. Pedigree has clearly carried the day.