Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos had initially told the South African public to 'kill him' if the team failed to make it to the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations and now, the tactician can breathe easy after they made it to the tournament with a 2-1 win over Liberia in Monrovia.
Broos is already planning for the competition in Ivory Coast and says he should now be 'killed' if the team doesn't make it past the group phases.
"I said that people should kill me if we do not go to the AFCON and now that we have made it, they should kill me if we do not go through the group phases of the tournament," Broos said.
The tactician was relieved with Bafana Bafana booking a spot in next January's AFCON and especially bouncing back after dropping a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with the Liberians last week.
He believes that South Africa should be a side regularly competing at the continent's top tournament.
"This is a country that normally should be at every AFCON and I did not understand why we couldn't qualify in the last years. This win was important for us because we have a new team with young players and we did it. We can only progress over the next 10 months with good preparations against opponents from whom we can learn something," said the tactician.
South Africa had to hold on for dear life in the last few minutes of the game with two goal-line clearances in the last five minutes, Liberia threatening to pull another great comeback.
Zakhele Lepasa had given the South Africans a 19th minute lead, when he raced to a Thapelo Morena dropped pass behind the defense before slotting low past the keeper.
However, the hard fighting Liberians drew level 10 minutes to halftime through skipper William Jebor. The lanky forward picked up the ball from distance and pulled the trigger, the power of the ball being too much for keeper Ronwen Williams who saw the ball slip through his fingers.
In the second half, under pressure South Africa tidied up their act and they got back into the lead nine minutes after the restart when Mihlali Mayambela slotted home from close range, reacting fastest to a spill from the keeper.
Despite some nervous moments, South Africa held on for the win.
Mozambique 0-1 Senegal
At the same time, defending champions Senegal have also qualified for the defense of their title after edging out Mozambique 1-0 in Maputo.
The Mozambican Mambas had shown an improved performance from their 5-1 defeat last week away from home, but still, the Lions of Teranga were stronger than them.
Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse was full of praise for his players especially after picking victory in a difficult hunting ground.
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"Not many teams have come here and won. Senegal has often left unhappy from Mozambique but today, we are really happy with our performance. We are very satisfied. We had come to seek for qualification and we achieved it," said Cisse.
He added; "I congratulate my players. Their mental strength is magnificent."
Cisse has added on that he will use the last two matches of the qualifiers to rotate the squad and give more players a chance to prove their worth ahead of the tournament.
Senegal have moved to 12 points with four straight wins, while Mozambique remain second on four points, two ahead of Rwanda who face Benin on Wednesday.
Boulaye Dia scored the lone goal for the Teranga Lions in the 18th minute, finishing off a Sadio Mane pass.
Gambia 1-0 Mali
Elsewhere, The Gambia put their hopes back on track with a hard earned 1-0 win over Mali in a match played in Casablanca, Morocco. The Scorpions made amends for their 2-0 loss to the Malians last weekend, as they ensured they remained in contention with two matches left.
It was also Mali's first loss in the qualifiers.
Omar Colley scored the winning goal for the Gambians in the 79th minute, a lead they managed to hold on to till the final whistle.
The win sees Gambia move to six points in group G, only separated from second placed Congo by goal difference. Mali remain top of the group with nine points.
