Africa Cup of Nations 2019 Finals - South Africa v Namibia - Al Salam Stadium - Cairo

Bongani Zungu of South Africa celebrates goal with teammate Percy Tau during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Finals football match between South Africa and Namibia at the Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt on 28 June 2019 ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Bafana upbeat about Afcon chances following win over Namibia

The win over Namibia boosted Bafana’s confidence ahead of their crucial Morocco clash.

Africa Cup of Nations 2019 Finals - South Africa v Namibia - Al Salam Stadium - Cairo

Bongani Zungu of South Africa celebrates goal with teammate Percy Tau during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Finals football match between South Africa and Namibia at the Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt on 28 June 2019 ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Bafana Bafana got off the mark in the 2019 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) as they beat neighbours Namibia, scoring a win which boosted their chances of progressing to the next round.

Stuart Baxter’s men are third in Group D following their 1-0 victory, level on points with second-place Ivory Coast.

This was thanks to a second-half header from Bongani Zungu, who met a cross from man of the match Percy Tau to put his side ahead.

They next play group leaders Morocco, who are only a draw away from securing a place in the knockout rounds.

Speaking to the media on Friday night, Tau noted the improvement in performance compared to Bafana’s last outing, where they suffered a 1-0 defeat to the Ivory Coast.

“It was a tough game but we are work in process and we are taking game by game and hopefully we will get the result we would like to have in the last match against Morocco.

“I think overall it was a better game than the one against Ivory Coast. The positives are that this time we converted one of our chances. In fact, we created lots of chances but unfortunately, we could not take most of them.

“Hopefully on a better day, we will able to take most of the chances that we create.”

Percy Tau

With three days to go before taking on the Atlas Lions, Zungu said he anticipated a tough clash, but expressed a determination to get the job done.

“Happy with the three points and I hope we can get better and better from here going forward and play some good football,” Zungu said.

“Even in the first half, we played good football but we knew they would be dangerous on the counter-attacks but in the second half, we stepped up our game and we were confident that the goal would come.

“The Morocco game would be a tough game but we are determined to get the result and qualify for the next round.”

Bongani Zungu

The match kicks off at 18:00 on Monday.