South Africa eliminated Cape Verde on Saturday February 2 in Yamoussoukro (0-0, 2 shots on goal to 1), in the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations, thanks in particular to a masterful performance by Ronwen Williams. The Bafana Bafana goalkeeper saved four shots on goal. And this is not due to luck or chance.
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From our special correspondent in Abidjan,
Will Enoch Godongwana leave the South African government in favor of a footballer? Let’s be realistic: it’s unlikely. But in Yamoussoukro, after a long undecided evening, Hlompho Kekana, the midfielder of the South African football team, suggested with humor, but above all a lot of respect, a new name to fill the position as Minister of Finance of his country.
While Bafana Bafana had just qualified for the semi-finals of the CAN 2024Kekana congratulated the hero of the match won against Cape Verde, Ronwen Williams: “ He is a world-class goalkeeper. I think he should become Minister of Finance, he would save the South African economy! »
Read alsoCAN 2024: South Africa thanks its goalkeeper, eliminates Cape Verde and goes to the semi-final
An unprecedented performance at such a level
The Man of the Match trophy was awarded to the South African goalkeeper, even if he preferred to highlight the team. But how can we nominate another player, as the captain has shone on the pitch? Ronwen Williams kept a clean sheet for the 90 minutes of regulation, then during extra time. And then it was show time during the penalty shootout.
Bebe, Willy Semedo, Laros Duarte… The first three Cape Verdean shooters came up against the South African goalkeeper. They all shot left and all failed. Bryan Teixeira vaguely kept hope alive by finally scoring for the Blue Sharks, on their fourth attempt, after the South African shooters had just suffered two failures. But Ronwen Williams was in a state of grace on Saturday night. And Patrick Andrade, the fifth and last Cape Verdean shooter, saw the Bafana Bafana wall push his attempt back to the right and thus send South Africa into the last four.
Four shots on goal saved out of five, without the help of an upright and without an off-target shot, it’s an exceptional performance. In major football competitions (World Cup, Euro, Copa America, etc.), this is even unprecedented. In any case, statisticians have not found any trace of a performance as exceptional as that of Williams.
“You can save one shot on goal, but four… It’s not luck”
Hugo Broos, South Africa coach, refuses to talk about luck. “ We had a very good goalkeeper today. If you save four shots on goal, it’s no longer luck. You can stop one, but four… It’s not luck. He didn’t just do that, he also saved us two minutes before the end of the first 90 minutes, when he was alone against the Cape Verdean player “, declared the technician to the press after the final whistle.
Ronwen Williams, the hero of the evening, was keen to associate the Bafana Bafana staff with this success. The Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper declared that “ all credit goes to analysts “. “ They prepared me. They recovered so many videos. We studied the different clubs of Cape Verdean players. I had worked hard too, we had rehearsed in training. But it’s not me who should be congratulated, it’s the analysts. And the goalkeeper coach too. They gave me a lot of clues “, he explained.
“ My phone is full of penalty videos. It wasn’t easy to find images of certain players, certain teams all around the world. Big up to the analysts! Thanks for putting this together. They did my job. At least half. Because I knew roughly where each player was going to shoot “added Williams.
His head coach also praised the “ fantastic work » video analysts. But Hugo Broos pays tribute to his last rampart, who already had an excellent reputation in taking penalties and taking shots from goal: “ During penalties, we can say to a goalkeeper “he will shoot to the right, he will shoot to the left”, and the opposite happens. These are the penalties. (…) Ronwen had the information. But in the end, he is the one who decides in the moment. »
Nigeria, South Africa’s opponent in the semi-final (Wednesday February 7 in Bouaké), knows what to expect if ever a penalty or a new penalty shootout were to occur.
Comments collected by Cédric De Oliveira, Martin Guez and Marco Martins.