So bad – and yet so good: South Africa surprises at the Africa Cup of Nations

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Ronwen Williams jumps into the arms of coach Hugo Broos: four out of five penalties saved

Photo:

Franck Fife / AFP

When Ronwen Williams crowns himself South African folk hero, he knows exactly who he wants to celebrate with. The goalkeeper saves the fourth of five penalties against Cape Verde, South Africa advances to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, then Williams jumps up, points to the bench and sprints into the arms of coach Hugo Broos. The cheering is huge.

The fact that South Africa will play the semi-final against Nigeria in the evening (6 p.m.) is the greatest success of the South African national football team in around 24 years. In 1996, the team called “Bafana Bafana” won the Africa Cup of Nations, two years later they came second and in 2000 they came third. Since then, South Africa has only reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, and the country did not even qualify for two of the last three tournaments.

The 2010 World Cup in our own country is remembered, Siphiwe Tshabalala's goal against Mexico in the opening game, or the 2-1 win against France. Nevertheless, the team was eliminated in the preliminary round and has not played in the World Cup finals since. The great years of South African football seemed to be over.

Then came Hugo Broos.

The 71-year-old Belgian with snow-white hair is a trainer with experience and a clear line. He coached Bruges and Anderlecht in Belgium, winning championships and cups. In 2017 he led Cameroon to victory at the Africa Cup of Nations. South Africa is also hoping for this title from Broos, but has chosen a special coach for this. He repeatedly criticizes the manageable level of his players and the domestic Premier Soccer League (PSL). After a year in office, he called on “short-sighted” critics to give him space and time to develop the team.

Despite the current success at the tournament in Ivory Coast, Broos described the penalty shootout win against Cape Verde as South Africa's "worst game" at the tournament. They even played better in the 2-0 defeat against Mali or the 0-0 draw against Tunisia in the group stage. Broos attributes this to the pressure. For some of his players, a match as important as this quarter-final at the Africa Cup is a new experience, and nerves play a role.

Without stars for the Africa Cup

Egypt has Mohamed Salah from Liverpool FC, Sénégal has ex-Bayern professional Sadio Mané and Nigeria has a striker like Naples' Victor Osimhen. The Morocco squad is largely made up of players who are under contract with clubs in Europe, such as Achraf Hakimi from Paris Saint-Germain or Noussair Mazraoui from FC Bayern. These are stars who regularly have to perform under great pressure in the league, cup competitions or the Champions League.

South Africa's best player is Percy Tau.

Never heard? The striker played three games in the British Premier League for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2021. He now plays for Al Ahly in Egypt. 24 of the 27 players in South Africa's squad are under contract with clubs in the domestic PSL, such as Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Despite the lack of stars, Broos almost managed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar with South Africa; a 1-0 defeat against Ghana due to a penalty cost the team their participation. They scored more points than ever before in a World Cup qualification. Nevertheless, criticism of the coach followed.

When South Africa lost a test match against France's star ensemble led by Kylian Mbappé 0-5 in March 2022, the renowned newspaper "Mail & Guardian" counted Broos. They were slaughtered by France, the defeat was a "disgrace" for the country, and coaches had already been fired for less.

But Broos spoke of an important experience. The result apparently confirmed his expectations.

The hard truth

While media still believed in great South African football, he disagreed. After a 2-1 defeat against Morocco in the summer of 2022, he said: “We have to face South Africa’s problem. The problem is that the level of our PSL is not high enough. We don't train players of high quality." Criticism followed from the league, striker Kermit Erasmus tweeted: "Why do we have a coach who doesn't believe in our talent and our league?"

Because Broos believes in the team, not in individual players. As he moved into the round of 16, he spoke of his team being a “family”. Then South Africa completely surprisingly beat the favorites Morocco 2-0, Broos raved about his team's self-confidence. And after the win against Cape Verde, the coach praised the players' fight. "Seeing the brotherhood out there, fighting, carrying on, that's what matters to me," he said. In his view, South Africa made it to the semi-finals not because something had improved since their lecture two years ago, but even though nothing had improved.

But Broos is confident. He hopes that the spectators are now convinced that the level of the PSL needs to be improved. "We play very intense games, and as you can see today, some players are suffering from it." By reaching the semi-finals, his players are now the focus. This is a good thing for South African football, says Broos, because it means that "there will be more interest in South African football."

Even the former critics of the Mail & Guardian are now praising Broos, even comparing him to Clive Barker, the coach who led South Africa to the title in 1996. Barker was there for almost four years, longer than any other coach. Broos will soon be there for three years. In the semi-finals his team will face favorites Nigeria led by attacker Victor Osimhen.

With another surprise success, Broos would probably have a good chance of catching up with Barker's record tenure.