Namibia Hero Deon Hotto Sends Warning to Bafana Bafana Ahead of AFCON Showdown

• South Africa face Namibia in a huge Group E clash on Sunday, January 21
• Bafana Bafana are looking for their first win while Namibia are looking to seal qualification
• Namibia's hero Deon Hotto has sent a message to Bafana Bafana ahead of their match

South Africa face Namibia on Sunday evening in a massive 2023 AFCON clash in Ivory Coast.

Bafana Bafana lost 2-0 to Mali in their first game and are hoping to get back on track and save their tournament.

Namibia's hero, Deon Hotto, who scored their winning goal against Tunisia, has sent a warning to Hugo Broos's side ahead of the matchup.

Namibia registered perhaps the biggest result in the tournament by beating the North Africans and have a chance to edge closer to the last 16 qualifications, per BBC.

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The Southern African nation are 87 places below the 2004 AFCON champions but stunned them in emphatic fashion on Tuesday, January 16.

Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana lost 2-0 to Mali despite producing an impressive first half where they missed a penalty. The 1996 champions have to beat Namibia to have a chance of reaching the knockout stage.

Mali are top of Group E with four points, Namibia are second with three, Tunisia are third with a point, while South Africa have not registered a point so far.

Deon Hotto warns Bafana Bafana

Hotto's stunning header in the 88th minute gave the minnows the win, their first ever in the tournament.

“It has sunk in already, for us, champion players don’t celebrate their moments because we keep playing after every third game, so there’s no time to celebrate...So that’s it, for us, it’s in the past, we have to turn the page and look forward to the next one,” per iDiski Times.

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He is looking forward to the showdown. If they win, they go through the last 16 and probably eliminate their neighbours.

“For us, both countries are from the SADEC [region] and we’re looking forward [to it] we really wanna showcase what we have as a country Namibia, it will be a nice one against our neighbours, which we call a local derby.”

Hotto knows most of the South African players since he's been playing in the PSL for about a decade now. He currently suits up for Orlando Pirates.

Mali captain backs South Africa

Sports Brief previously reported on Mali's captain, Hamari Traore, tipping Bafana Bafana to do well despite beating them in their first game.

South Africa last went past the AFCON group stage in the 2019 edition in Egypt. They reached the quarter-finals but lost to Nigeria.

Bafana Bafana face neighbours, Namibia, in a must-win game on Sunday before concluding their group E matches against Tunisia.