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- Namibia's win over Tunisia has added pressure on Bafana Bafana in Group E at Afcon.
- After losing to Mali, Bafana must beat Namibia on Sunday to stay in contention to advance to the Round of 16.
- Coach Hugo Broos acknowledges the importance of the match and expresses confidence in his team's readiness and determination to win.
- For more Afcon news, visit News24's Africa Cup of Nations Zone.
When Namibia's Deon Hotto nailed in an 88th-minute winner against Tunisia, one of the Africa Cup of Nations heavy hitters, it all of a sudden made Group E look a lot more interesting than at face value.
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It was a result that shocked all of the continent, and now Namibia, who showed that they have the dedication and guile to overcome a tough Tunisian side, has a target on their backs after entering the tournament quietly.
An hour after that fixture, Bafana Bafana met Mali, and the two nations knew too well what needed to occur: secure the victory, or pressure would surely start to weigh heavily on their shoulders.
Unsurprisingly, Hugo Broos and his South African charges have taken the burden on their backs.
After failing to capitalise on their goalscoring chances in the first half, a dominant Mali sliced Bafana's continuously shaky defence open in the second stanza, scoring twice to elevate them to command the group standings on goal difference.
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Bafana now has to win against Namibia on Sunday (22:00 SA time) to level the playing field and have a fighting chance to be one of three nations to advance to the knockout rounds.
"First of all, we were very disappointed last Tuesday after the defeat against Mali because we didn't play a bad game," expressed Broos on Saturday ahead of Bafana's clash against the Brave Warriors.
"We were the better team in the first half; we had three good chances to score and we missed the penalty. So when you lose a game like that, the disappointment was big for all of us.
"But we had nearly five days to recover from that. What I saw yesterday in training, I know that the boys are ready again [and] to play that tough game of tomorrow.
"We have to win that game, where we still have chances to go through the group stages, we know that, but we are confident."
Sunday's showdown will be Bafana's 14th meeting against Namibia, while it will be the two nations' third meeting on the Afcon stage.
Bafana had pulled an emphatic 4-1 win over the Brave Warriors back in the 1998 edition of Afcon, with legendary Benni McCarthy bagging all four goals.
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In 2019, Bongani Zungu had to spare Bafana's blushes, scoring a lone goal to ensure Bafana marched into the last 16, where they met Egypt and beat the Pharaohs.
Broos knows that the game will be difficult as Bafana have not beaten Namibia since that Afcon tie. The Brave Warriors have held to stalemates in their last three meetings.
"Namibia won against Tunisia, and something extra for this game, [is that] it's a game between two neighbours," Broos continued.
"[They are] a team who is composed with many players who are playing in South Africa, so they will try to show something tomorrow against us and we [have to] try to beat this.
"So we know that it will be a tough game, but again, at the other side, we are confident and we will try to win that game tomorrow, a game that we have to win."
