Afcon win a boost in confidence for Bafana

Bafana Bafana tactician Hugo Broos is confident that Sunday's 4-0 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) victory over Namibia in Korhongo will go a long way in boosting their morale ahead of their last Group E clash versus Tunisia on Wednesday.

Themba Zwane scored a fantastic first half brace that added to Percy Tau's early penalty, making sure Bafana were cruising 3-0 at halftime. Thapelo Maseko, coming off the bench to replace Zwane, scored the fourth goal late in the second stanza.

The win at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium saw Bafana, who had lost 2-0 to Mali in their opener last Tuesday, move to second spot in the group now with a solid goal difference ahead of facing Tunisia at the same venue on Wednesday. Bafana need to avoid a defeat against Tunisia to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament. In case of a defeat, Bafana should be able to qualify as one of the four third-place finishers.

"We played a very good game and got a good win, which is very important for goal difference. Now we have a boost in confidence ahead of the game on Wednesday against a very strong opponent,” Broos said. 

Broos wants a win at all costs against the North Africans to avoid any reliance on other outcomes elsewhere. "[Tunisia] is an opponent who we must win against to remain in the tournament here in Ivory Coast,'' the Bafana coach said.

The Bafana trainer also emphasised why it was really crucial for them to beat the Brave Warriors, who came into the tie high in confidence after racking up their first ever Afcon win by beating Tunisia last Tuesday.

"We knew we had to win the game today to have some chance of going to the group stages, so we were a little nervous at the beginning of the game. But we settled more and more after we scored the first goal,'' Broos said.