Ronwen Williams saved four of the five penalties in a remarkable penalty shootout to send South Africa through to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals for the first time since 2000. The Bafana Bafana beat Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties after regulation and extra time ended goalless.
After beating pre-tournament favourites and highest-ranked African nation Morocco in the Round of 16, Hugo Broos seems to be finding the same ingredients which saw him claim the trophy with Cameroon in 2019.
Both sides did have numerous scoring opportunities, but played out the first half with greater emphasis on not losing as opposed to grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck.
At the end of 120 minutes of a physical and pacy contest, neither of the two sides was able to find the back of the net, and the game went into penalty shootout.
Former Manchester United player Bebé stepped up first a missed from the spot, allowing Williams to become the first goalkeeper at this year’s AFCON to save a penalty.
Williams then went on to save the next two to remarkably make it three in a row before saving the crucial fifth Cape Verde kick, sealing South Africa’s dramatic progression to the semi-finals.
The 1996 champions, South Africans will now have the chance to avenge their defeat to the Super Eagles on their last appearance in the AFCON semi-finals, when they were beaten 2-0 by three-time champions, Nigeria in 2000.
The game will go down in Bouake, Ivory Coast on Wednesday by 6pm Nigerian time. Hosts Ivory Coast will also lock horns with Democratic Republic of Congo in the other semifinal game.
