Bafana Bafana Reach Knockout Stages of COSAFA Cup, Zambia Falls Short
- Bafana Bafana has advanced to the knockout stages of the COSAFA Cup after playing a goalless draw against Zambia
- Zambia has crashed out of the competition because of the result and South Africa will be facing Namibia next
- Yusuf Maart was named the man of the match because of his performance in dominating play in the midfield area
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed!
Following a 0-0 draw against Zambia at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Wednesday afternoon, South Africa will enter the knockout stages of the 2021 COSAFA Cup as the tournament's only unbeaten team.
Zambia, who needed a win to keep their championship defence aspirations alive, were accordingly eliminated from the tournament and will return to Lusaka following a disappointing trip to the Eastern Cape.
After four matches, Bafana Bafana finished first in Group A, having yet to surrender a goal in the regional tournament.
Source: Twitter
PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel
Despite making eight changes from the team that thrashed Lesotho 4-0 on Tuesday, South Africa dominated the early stages of the match according to a match report by SuperSport.
Goal stated that Yusuf Maart, a Bafana midfielder on the books of Sekhukhune United, was named Man of the Match after a strong performance in midfield.
South Africa finished first in Group A and will play Namibia in a semi-final match on Friday, while Zambia was eliminated from the Southern African event.
Despite losing 1-0 against Mozambique in a match played at Wolfson Stadium, Namibia qualified for the semi-finals as the Group B runners-up.
Victor Letsoalo scored a hat trick on his debut for Bafana Bafana
Briefly News previously reported that Bafana Bafana advanced to the COSAFA Cup semi-finals with a 4-0 win over Lesotho at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, with debutant Victor Letsoalo scoring a hat-trick.
Letsoalo and Njabulo Ngcobo made their national team debuts, while Yusuf Maart started for the first time after coming off the bench in the previous two games. Sphelele Mkhulise scored the other goal for South Africa in a commanding performance.
Letsoalo also made history by being the first player in South African national team history to score a hat-trick on his debut according to Sport24.
Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!
Source: Briefly News
