Overview:
Besides the gold medal on home soil in 1996, South Africa scooped silver in 1998 (hosted by Burkina Faso), bronze in 2000 (co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana) and the latest bronze in 2023 (Cote D’Ivoire).
AFCON 2023 (Third Place play-off):
- South Africa 0 (6) – 0 (5) Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
South Africa settled for bronze at the belated 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament hosted by Cote D’IVoire.
The Bafana Bafana, winners of this championship in 1996 needed a second post-match penalty victory at the 2023 tournament to out-smart Democratic Republic of Congo 6-5.
Normal time of this end-to-end contest had ended goal-less at the Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny before a capacity crowd that included the CAF president Patrice Motsape, a South African by nationality.
South African goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams was once again the hero with two penalty saves during this shoot-out.
Williams of Mamelodi Sundowns had also saved four penalties during the quarter finals, against Cape Verde.
In the semi-finals, it was Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who completely dominated the game during normal play, creating a couple of clear cut goal scoring opportunities as Williams and the South African defenders shone brightest.
Williams saved the poorly taken penalties by captain Chancel Mbemba (plays for Olympic Marseille in France) and Elia Meschak (Young Boys, Switzerland).
Besides the gold medal on home soil in 1996, South Africa scooped silver in 1998 (hosted by Burkina Faso), bronze in 2000 (co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana) and the latest bronze in 2023 (Cote D’Ivoire).
The final will be played between hosts Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe on Sunday, February 11, 2024 (11 PM, East African time).
Equatorial Guinea forward Emilio Nsue is the tournament top scorer with five goals (so far).
