Champions Tunisia on Thursday stayed on course to become only the second team to retain the African Nations Cup since it was extended to 16 sides as they beat a sorry South Africa 2-0 in their Group C clash.
Defeat ended Bafana Bafana’s interest in the competition and confirmed their sharp decline since winning the title in 1996 and two successive appearances in the World Cup finals.
Tunisia were joined in the last eight — Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon having already qualified — by Guinea, who were fortunate to edge out Zambia 2-1 with Pascal Feinduono scoring a last minute winner.
The two will play each other in the last Group match which will decide who tops the group.
It was a good night for French coaches as Tunisia are coached by Roger Lemerre, who is bidding to become only the second coach to win the trophy twice, and Patrice Neveu is the boss of Guinea.
Tunisia had their nervy moments against South Africa, especially in the first-half, but in driving rain their ace marksman from French side Toulouse, Santos, eased their nerves with a goal before half-time.
It is not often that unheralded French side Toulouse are mentioned in the same breath as Barcelona but Santos’ goal took him alongside Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o at the top of the goalscoring charts with four — the total the Brazilian-born naturalised Tunisian scored in 2004.
A second goal early in the second-half ended the contest and probably the tenure of 69-year-old Ted Dumitru once he returns to South Africa following the last Group C clash against Zambia — a match that may well also decide the future of his opposite number Kalusha Bwalya.
However while the sexagenarian Romanian-born coach looks as if his brief international coaching career may be over it looked more like Lemerre was on his way out, as the former France boss remained motionless staring into space by his dugout even when Tunisia scored their second.
Lemerre amazingly said that South Africa had been their most feared opponent in the group.
”We were a bit scared of the South Africans because they beat us in a friendly at home,” said Lemerre, who won Euro 2000 with France but left after the 2002 World Cup debacle.
”We prepared especially for this game. The result of that preparation was evident today [Thursday].”
South African captain Sibusiso Zuma, who was one of his side’s more impressive performers, said there was nothing to worry about.
”We did not have enough time to prepare as most of the players are new,” said Zuma, who was voted in as captain by the players in preference to predecessor Aaron Mokoena.
”This is a team for the future.”
Feinduono was Guinea’s saviour as he has been so often.
A penalty and then his fierce shot from the edge of the area, after Zambia failed to clear the ball, saw the Guineans come from behind and reach the quarterfinals for the second successive time.
Feindouno said the victory will boost his team’s confidence as they fight their way to the later stages of the competition — though they will find it hard to emulate their team-mates from 1976 who lost out to Morocco by a point for the title when it was on this unique occasion a mini league.
”It’s great to reach the quarter-finals and now we must target to go even further to the semis so as to improve on our performance at the last tournament in Tunisia,” said the Saint Etienne forward.
”It was a big struggle but we never doubted our ability to come back and at half time, we listened to our coach and everything worked out well.”
Bwalya said that despite his team’s second straight defeat in the tournament — they lost 4-1 to Tunisia after again letting a one goal advantage slip — he was proud of them.
”The penalty against us was the turning point of this match,” said the Zambian football legend, who is a former African Footballer of the Year.
”After that the Guineans came back fully into the match. But we have nothing to be ashamed of because, like it was against Tunisia, my team stood their ground,” added Bwalya, who also said he will consider his future with the team. – Sapa-AFP