Bafana Bafana are back on track to reach the knockout rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast

On Sunday night Themba Zwane scored a brace for South Africa while Percy Tau and Thapelo Maseko also found the back of the net in their 4-0 drubbing of Namibia.

Tau opened the scoring in the 14th minute with penalty to make amends after missing from the spot in their opening match against Mali. Zwane doubled the lead in the 25 minute, before completing his brace with some five minutes to go before half time.

Maseko drove the final nail in the coffin by scoring his goal in the 75th minute.

The three points moved Bafana up to second in Group E, and just one point shy of the leaders Mali.

The coach, Hugo Broos, said the victory has given them confidence ahead of their game against Tunisia.

“We knew we had to win the game to go through the group stages, so we were a little bit nervous at the beginning, but after we scored the first goal, we settled,” said Broos.

“We played a good game after having had a good analysis of the opponents and we showed the players where their weaknesses were.

“It is a good win, and important for the goal-difference. Now we have a boost of confidence for the game against Tunisia, who are a very strong opponent.”

It’s a short turnaround with this game being played at 19:00 on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Equatorial Guinea will face Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau are up against Nigeria, Cape Verde will play against Egypt and Mozambique will face the Blacks Stars of Ghana.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport