JUBA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Africa secured a dramatic 3-2 victory against hosts South Sudan in the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers on Tuesday, played at the Juba National Stadium.
South Sudan took an early lead in the 14th minute, but South Africa quickly equalized just two minutes later. The match opened up in the second half, with both teams pushing for a winner, but it was South Africa who clinched victory with a last-gasp goal in the 95th minute.
South African national team coach Hugo Broos expressed relief during the post-match press conference, noting that his team could have settled the game much earlier in the first half.
"I am very happy that we still could win the game, honestly I didn't believe in it anymore, I know that this South Sudanese team plays with a lot of heart and dedication, they have a lot of tall players and our defense was not aggressive enough," Broos said.
He added that defensive errors led to his team conceding two goals, putting them in a difficult position.
"The big trouble we have now for this moment is that there are players who did not play competitive games, 80 percent of the players played only preseason friendly games, and we saw that in the game, we were not sharp enough, this is not South Africa that we knew in other games," Broos disclosed.
South Sudan's head coach, Nicholas Dupuis, praised his team's efforts despite the narrow loss, stating that they had performed admirably against a strong opponent like South Africa.
"I am very proud of my players today because they were playing against South Africa; it is a very good team. The first half tactically was not very good and we only improved in the second half," Dupuis said, adding that a draw would have been possible if the defense hadn't switched off in the final minutes.
South Sudan will travel to Uganda for their next Group K match on October 7, while South Africa will face the Republic of Congo in the other fixture.
After two games, Uganda and South Africa top Group K with 4 points each. ■
