Amagluglug Olympic Dream Alive After Ivory Coast Win

South Africa beat Ivory Coast 1-0 courtesy of a superb Teboho Mokoena free kick to keep their Olympic dream alive at the Under 23 Africa Cup of Nations being held in Egypt.

SuperSport United midfielder Teboho Mokoena stepped up to hit an unstoppable free-kick from around 35 yards out to give his side an all important victory that propelled South Africa to the top of the Group B.

South Africa now need a point against Nigeria on Friday to secure a semifinal berth as they hunt their ultimate goal – qualification for the Tokyo 2022 Olympic Games.

As it stands now, a draw will be good enough‚ with perhaps even a loss enough if Zambia and Ivory Coast draw‚ or the former claim the win.

Amagluglug need to finish in the top three at the tournament to seal a place in the Olympic Games‚ which would follow their previous appearances at the tournament in 2000 and 2016.

“We are happy to win‚ to get the first three points in the tournament in a very tough match against a very good opponent‚” South Africa coach David Notoane said.

South Africa’s final group assignment against second-placed Nigeria is on November 15 at the Al Salam Stadium at 20:00hrs.

By Gerald Dandah