WeeklySA_AdminKNOCKOUT STAGE: HISTORY MAY REPEAT ITSELF WHEN BAFANA TACKLE MOROCCO IN A WIN OR GO HOME LAST 16 CLASH AT AFCON 2023
By Ali Mphaki
Like migratory birds Bafana Bafana on Thursday completed a 535.3 km flight from Korhogo in the north to land in the south port city of San Pedro where a red hot Morocco awaits them ahead of their last 16 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Afcon 2023 game pencilled for Tuesday night in Côte d’Ivoire.
A change of scene – Korhogo is renowned for its fetish zones where you can buy and sell esoteric goods ranging from horns and animal skins to dried snakes – to the vibrant San Pedro known for its nightlife and its beaches – may just be the right tonic for a youthful Bafana Bafana determined to proceed further in this biennial tournament taking place in that land of the cocoa.
Unfancied before the competition, Bafana Bafana somewhat defied expectations by reaching the last 16 – concluding their group stage run with one loss, a 4-nil win and a draw.
Their counterparts on the other hand come to this match as pre-tournament favourites and have not disappointed collecting maximum points in their group stages.
Lest we forget, Morocco finished top of the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023 qualifiers group after collecting 9 points out of a possible 12. In a group reduced to 3 with South Africa and Liberia after the withdrawal of Zimbabwe, the Atlas Lions won 3 matches and lost only once against South Africa.
Adding a further intrigue to this encounter is that both nations aim to win their second continental title in history – they are hoping to get the trophy that has been elusive for Morocco for the past 48 years (1976) and Bafana Bafana since 1996.
So far Bafana Bafana’s Afcon2023 campaign has been conservative and rigid but also boasting supreme quality in forward areas – a blueprint that Hugo Broos used to achieve Cameroon’s Afcon success in 2017.
Judging by the two teams’ contrasting style of play, the much-anticipated massive encounter between the two nations could best be described as fire versus ice – north vs south.
Whatever the outcome, strap yourselves in for all of the pain, glory and ecstasy.
