Bafana Bafana were ontroosbaar after Nigeria defender William Troos-Ekong’s last-minute goal knocked them out of Afcon.
Wednesday night’s 2-1 defeat saw the South Africans fight back from Samuel Chukwueze’s 27th-minute opener through Bongani Zungu’s second-half header to come within a minute of forcing the quarterfinal to extra time.
But Bafana switched off defending a corner and Troos-Ekong stole in to send the Super Eagles soaring into Sunday’s semifinals and Bafana players crashing to the floor.
MORE PAIN: Bafana Bafana boss Stuart Baxter. Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters.
SA coach Stuart Baxter said afterwards: “We tried to win the game in the closing stages, but Nigeria got the goal in the dying minutes.
“It is tough to take, but I have to say congratulations to [Nigeria coach] Gernot [Rohr] and team. I’m sure they’ll be one of the teams in line for the trophy.”
Stuart Baxter is definitely proud of his #BafanaBafana boys, after missing out on a semi-final spot ⚽️ #TotalAFOCN2019 pic.twitter.com/b3qIgH3bFq
— CAF (@CAF_Online) July 10, 2019
Coming into the game on a high after beating hosts Egypt in the previous round, Bafana sukkeled to penetrate the Nigerian defence and SA’s fullbacks were tested by wingers Chukwueze and Ahmed Musa.
But in the end after a campaign of narrow defeats and wins to the likes of Ivory Coast and Morocco, midfielder Dean Furman says the team can hold their heads high.
Furman says: “It looked like they [Nigeria] were tired and to get that goal at the end, that one is going to hurt for a while, but we can hold our heads up.
HEARTBROKEN: Bafana Bafana players down. Photo: Khaled Elfiqi/EPA.
“I think everyone in this team can be proud of themselves, the way they acquitted themselves, the way they came out here.
“Hopefully from this experience Bafana Bafana is ready to mix it with the big teams."