Bafana Bafana's Afcon dream was crushed last night when they lost 4:2 in penalty shoot-out against the Nigerian soccer team the Super Eagle in the semi-finals in C?te d'Ivoire. The match finished 1-1 after extra time. The teams equalised with the first goal at 67 minutes from Nigeria's William Troost-Ekong through penalty and a goal for Bafana Bafana at the 90th minute from Teboho Mokoena.

A TEN MEN TEAM

Bafana Bafana were left with ten players on the peach in extra time after defender Grant Kekana was slapped with a red. This came as the Super Eagles put them under pressure as Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali who is at Afcon representing his home country saved from Mokoena and Evidence Makgopa. Kekana said in an interview after the match that he wants Broos to stay as Bafana Bafana coach and complete his last task which is to get them to the World Cup in 2026 to be jointly hosted by US, Mexico and Canada.

THEY FOUGHT GALLANTLY

Bafana will play for a bronze medal on Saturday evening with DR Congo. In a post on X after their defeat, Bafana congratulated Nigeria for making it to the final and also thanked South Africans for their wavering support. To the players, they wrote: "You fought like warriors at AFCON Bafana Bafana. You are an inspiration to many with your performances in the tournament. Through you, we now have sufficient building blocks for the next World Cup," Minister of Sports and Culture Zizi Kodwa also congratulated Bafana for their sterling performance at Afcon. "Phambili Bafana Bafana! Hold your heads up high. You played your hearts out. You fought gallantly till the end. You made your presence felt at Afcon and were excellent ambassadors for the country.  You've made us proud," Kodwa said. Nigeria will face off with Ivory Coast in the final on Sunday.