South Africa will take on D.R Congo at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium for the bronze medal as both sides hope to end their campaign on a high. The clash will determine which nation finishes third in this year’s edition of the tournament.
Bafana Bafana has had a memorable tournament, recording their largest-ever tourney victory in the win over Namibia, defeating pre-tournament favourites, Morocco and surprise packages, Cape Verde during the knockout stages before losing to Nigeria on penalties in the semifinals.
On the flip side, the Leopards drew all of their group-stage encounters but still qualified for the knockout stages, knocking out Egypt and Guinea en route to a semi-final loss to hosts, Ivory Coast.
South Africa will be without the services of experienced center-back, Grant Kekana who was sent off against Nigeria, with Siyanda Xulu expected to start at the heart of defence for the Bafana Bafana. Coach, Hugo Broos is expected to revert to a back four after his team equaled Nigeria’s back three in the semifinal defeat.
Meanwhile, Theo Bongonda is anticipated to start for the D.R Congo against South Africa, having replaced Gael Kakuta, who had made a comeback to the team against the Ivorians in the semifinals. Leopards head coach, Sebastien Desabre is expected to keep faith with outfield players—Chancel Mbemba, Arthur Masuaku, Samuel Moutoussamy, and Gedeon Kalulu in a bid to finish with the bronze medal.
The recent scorelines between both sides is a precursor to a low-scoring game that may go into extra time and possibly penalties. With the exception of a 2-2 World Cup qualifier in 2005, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo have shared a 1-0 scoreline three times in their last five meetings.
A win for D.R Congo will cap a brilliant Africa Cup of Nations campaign for the team and a bit of solace for the citizens of the troubled eastern region of the country while a win for South Africa will be their best outing at the tournament in 24 years.
