South Africa booked their place in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Cape Verde on Saturday at the Stade de Yamoussoukro.
The match ended goalless after 120 minutes of play, with both teams failing to break the deadlock despite creating some chances. Cape Verde had the better of the first half, while South Africa grew into the game in the second half and extra time.
The fate of the quarter-final tie was then decided by penalties, where South Africa’s goalkeeper Ronwen Williams emerged as the hero. He saved four out of five spot-kicks from the Cape Verdeans, while his teammates converted two of their four attempts.
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Williams denied Bebe, Willy Semedo, Laros Duarte and Patrick Andrade from the spot, while only Bryan Teixeira scored for Cape Verde. For South Africa, Teboho Mokoena and Mothobi Mvala scored, while Zakhele Lepasa and Aubrey Modiba missed.
The result means that South Africa have reached the semi-finals of the AFCON for the fourth time in their history, and the first time since 2000. They will face Nigeria, who beat Angola 1-0 in the other quarter-final, on Friday.