Teboho Mokoena: Bafana Bafana Hero Reacts After South Africa’s Victory Over Morocco

• South Africa defeated Morocco 2-0 to advance to the quarter-final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
• Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena were on the scoresheet for Bafana Bafana on the night
• Mokoena has opened up on what inspired the squad to go for victory against the North Africans

South Africa are through to the quarter-final of the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

Bafana Bafana put up a fighting performance to defeat tournament favourites and World Cup semi-finalists Morocco 2-0 on Tuesday night.

After a barren first half, Evidence Makgopa stunned the North Africans when he found the back of the net in the 57th minute.

Achraf Hakimi had a chance to draw the Dessert Warriors back into the game in the 85th minute, but his effort from the penalty spot rattled the crossbar.

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It was Teboho Mokoena who struck in stoppage time to confirm South Africa's place in the last eight.

The 27-year-old pulled off a midfield masterclass, capped off with a stunning late free-kick in the 2-0 win over Morocco.

After the game, he disclosed that it was a well-deserved victory as the squad prepared to silence critics after their initial loss to Mali in the group stage.

Mokoena said, as per iDiski Times:

“Nobody gave us a chance after the first game we lost to Mali, but we came back strong, improved and worked very hard to be where we are now.

“We knew Morocco are very strong on the [wings], they overload the sides with Hakmi, Ounahi, and the other winger, so we dealt with that and closed their game plan because their central midfield didn’t know where to pass the ball.”

South Africans celebrate win over Morocco

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Sports Brief earlier reported that South Africans celebrated all night after Bafana Bafana pulled off a huge upset at the Africa Cup of Nations, dumping out Morocco.

Going into the game, Morocco were ranked number one on the continent and 13th in the world, but they were no match for Hugo Broos’ men.

South Africa beat The Atlas Lions 2-0 thanks to goals from Orlando Pirates' Evidence Makgopa and Mamelodi Sundowns' Teboho Mokoena.