South Africa revived their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with a convincing 4-0 win over Namibia in a Group E match played at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium on Sunday night.
Percy Tau opened the scoring before Themba Zwane added two outstanding goals, as South Africa had the game wrapped up in the first 40 minutes. Thapelo Maseko added a fourth in the second half to round out a fine display from the 1996 continental champions.
The result sees South Africa rise to second place on the Group E standing on three points, one behind leaders Mali, with Namibia on three points dropping back to third place, and Tunisia on one point.
The South Africans may have not enjoyed a lot of possession in the game, but their plan to catch Namibia on counterattacks worked perfectly.
Following a disappointing defeat to Mali, Bafana Bafana relied on domestic league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns to provide the bulk of a starting line-up which blew past a Namibia team fresh from their first-ever Cup of Nations win.
Former Brighton winger Tau missed a penalty in South Africa’s opener and was offered the chance for redemption in the first quarter of an hour after VAR spotted a clumsy but harsh handball by Riaan Hanamub. Tau converted his spot-kick on this occasion, hard and low into the bottom corner.
Group E finishes up on Wednesday 24 January evening as group leaders Mali take on Namibia while South Africa will play Tunisia, who sit bottom on a single point after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Mali.
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