A heroic guardian! South African Ronwen Williams, by stopping 4 shots on goal, sends South Africa into the last four of CAN 2024 after their victory over Cape Verde (0-0, tab 2-1), Saturday in Yamoussoukro , in the quarter-finals. Bafana Bafana will face Nigeria in the semi-final.
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At the end of the suspense, Bafana Bafana won the last ticket for the CAN 2024 semi-finals! Cape Verde challenged South Africa on Saturday February 3 at the Charles Konan Banny stadium in Yamoussoukro in the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations. And it was the South Africans who won after an incredible penalty shootout, where their goalkeeper Ronwen Williams achieved the impossible (0-0, tab 2-1).
The stands of the Charles Konan Banny stadium in Yamoussoukro are sparse when the match between the two teams begins. Far from the incandescent atmosphere of the Mali – Ivory Coast meeting which ended shortly before with the stunning qualification of the Elephants. Despite this subdued atmosphere, the 22 players intend to play their parts well to reach the semi-final, and it is Cape Verde who gets their foot on the ball during the first minutes.
The Blue Sharks have one of the best attacks of CAN 2024, but it is Mokoena who strikes first: the South African, author of a sublime free kick against Morocco in the round of 16, sends a floating strike which he has the secret. Vozinha keeps watch and grabs the ball (10th).
Shortly after, the same Bafana Bafana serves Zwane, but his crushed shot misses the target (14th). Response from the shepherd to the shepherdess: Pina in turn strikes from the entrance to the South African area… but there too it is too crushed (15th). The rest of the match consisted of sterile ball possessions on both sides without any chances.
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Until Mokoena obtains a good free kick at the entrance to the Cape Verdean area: the South African midfielder takes justice into his own hands but the Blue Sharks wall pushes the ball away (29th). Cape Verde gradually regains control of the ball and offers great combinations, like this action on the right: in a magnificent three-way play, Ryan Mendes inherits the ball and crosses for Cabral, who volleys back. But Kekana throws himself to save his team in front of the goal (35th).
Then, Mendes sends another thrill into the Bafana Bafana area, but his shot near the opponent’s cage is deflected by a South African defender (40th). Not much else to report at the end of the first period, the 0-0 seems generally logical given the spectacle on offer.
Goalkeepers in the spotlight
Upon returning from the locker room, the match continues in continuity with the end of the first act. Few situations to report, therefore, until this shift from Mokoena to Makgopa, whose ground strike is captured in two stages by Vozinha (53rd). In the process, Rodrigues is found deep on the edge of offside. In one on one against Williams, he hits but the South African goalkeeper lies down well (56th).
Promising actions, but the breath of the show immediately subsides. At the hour mark, only three shots were on target in total. It was not until the 78th minute that the match regained some spice: Cabral volleyed a cross from Mendes, but the ball narrowly passed over Williams’ cage.
An off-target header from the Blue Shark Semedo (88th) and a crushed shot from the South African Sithole (90th) will not change the appearance of the match. Benchimol has Cape Verde’s qualifying ball at his feet during stoppage time: alone against Williams, he hits hard but the South African goalkeeper makes a decisive save by deflecting the ball onto his crossbar (90th +3). The two teams will therefore continue in overtime to try to decide between themselves.
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Williams as a hero
This meeting is becoming more and more a match of goalkeepers: after Williams, it is Vozinha’s turn to shine during a double save at close range against Mayembela then against Makgopa (92nd). Bafana Bafana had two big chances in quick succession to open the scoring.
The Blue Sharks have not said their last word: Benchimol is found alone on the right side but his shot is too crossed (95th), and again in the South African area a few minutes later (99th). Both teams seem tired during the second part of overtime, and this is reflected in the proposed game.
Then it’s time for penalties for the Blue Sharks and Bafana Bafana. Williams shines in the most beautiful way by stopping… four shots from Cape Verde! Never seen ! In the end, South Africa won this penalty shootout with an astonishing score of 2-1, after a miss from Lepasa and a save from Vozinha for Cape Verde.
This is the first time since 2000 that South Africa has qualified for the last four of a CAN, where it will face Nigeria on Wednesday.
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