The last semi-finals spot of this memorable Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament is up for grabs when Cape Verde take on South Africa, with both teams surprising most by making it this far. Cape Verde will be attempting to make it to the semi-finals for the first time in what is their fourth AFCON appearance, while 1996 winners South Africa last made it past the quarter-finals way back in the year 2000.
Bubista’s Cape Verdeans have their all-time top scorer, most capped player and current captain Ryan Mendes to thank for getting them this far, after he slotted an 88th minute penalty to squeak past Mauritania in the last 16. The Blue Sharks have fed on late goals this tournament, also scoring in the 91st minute to beat Ghana 2-1 in their opener, before a miraculous 99th minute equaliser saw them draw 2-2 with Egypt to top their group.
South Africa will be on a high after producing arguably the upset of the tournament in the Round of 16 when they knocked out FIFA’s highest ranked African nation, Morocco (W 2-0). Bafana Bafana’s progress has been built upon a rock solid defence led by captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who has kept three consecutive clean sheets since their 2-0 defeat to Mali in their opening group game.
Despite South Africa boasting a population more than 100 times greater than Cape Verde, and a slightly superior FIFA ranking, both the formlines and the head-to-head history suggest this could be a tight affair. Each side has won two of the five most recent H2Hs (D1), with all four of those matches with a winner ending in a 2-1 scoreline.
Players to watch: Cape Verde will be hoping for more magic from Mendes, as they’ve never lost when their captain is on the scoresheet (W14, D1). It may take something special to beat Williams in goal, with the South African shot stopper keeping ten clean sheets in his last 12 games for club and country. He is one shutout away from equalling the AFCON record for a South African in a single tournament set by Andre Arendse during their 1996 title win.
Hot stat: There has been just one penalty shootout in the last eight AFCON knockout matches featuring either of these teams. #southafrica #capeverde #afcon
