Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has appealed to the team not to underestimate their quarter final opponents in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Cape Verde.
The two nations will clash on Saturday night at Yamoussoukro, with the winner proceeding to the semifinal of the continental showpiece.
The team is ranked 73 on the FIFA rankings, while Bafana Bafana is ranked 66.
Both nations have met five times previously, with each side winning twice and drawing one match, and this is their second meeting at the AFCON.
Broos said the 2-nil win over tournament favourites and FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Morocco has given the team a boost of confidence, but the team must be wary of their opponents.
“We don’t underestimate Cape Verde.
They’re not the same team like Morocco with all the high-quality players who play in big teams in Europe.
But what I saw from the team, I think we don’t have to underestimate them, they have qualities. It’s a team on the pitch, players are very disciplined, do their role, and it is difficult to play against them.
So that means that we have to achieve our best level if we want to be in the finals,” said Broos during a media briefing Yamoussoukro.
The coach encouraged the players to dream about the final, but cautioned that it “would be a very big mistake to think that after beating Morocco everything would be easier.”
The Blue Sharks, as Cape Verde is popularly known, have been the surprise team at the tournament, after they beat Ghana 2-1 and played a 2-2 draw with Egypt in their group matches.
“We’re confident but on the other side we know also that it’ll be tough.
If you want to compare Saturday and Tuesday’s game, there’s no difference, it would be tough, as we already know.
We saw different games they played, and they were very good. It’s not a weak team, they were first in their group, that included Ghana and Egypt,” explained Broos.
It’s been 24 years since Bafana Bafana played in the semi-final of the AFCON, and Broos said the current team is aware of what lies before them.
One such player is striker Evidence Makgopa, who attributed the team’s success to the Belgian experience in lifting the trophy with Cameroon in 2017.
“We’re all motivated, and we want to be in the history books.
The coach has experience, the other thing is that our coach has a belief in us as a team.
We have a good relationship with the coach, so I think that one is going to help us going forward,” said Makgopa
The match between Bafana Bafana and Cape Verder will kick-off at 22:00 South African time.
