Abidjan, (CIV):- South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo will be looking at bowing out in the style of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 as they lock horns for the bronze medal in the third-place playoff this Saturday.
Both sides were knocked out of the title race during the semi-finals where Bafana Bafana were edged 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Nigeria, while DR Congo lost by a slim 1-0 margin against hosts, Cote d’Ivoire.
While both sides will be disappointed with the semi-final exit, the third and fourth-place play-off presents the perfect opportunity for either side to go home with the consolation of being the third-best team of the competition.
The two sides last faced each other in a friendly match last year, with Bafana Bafana recording a narrow 1-0 victory.
The Leopards will be boosted by the fitness of former Chelsea man Gael Kakuta who returned from injury in the match against Ivory Coast and played the other half-hour of the semi-final clash defeat to the hosts. It would be interesting to see if he will play against South Africa.
The third-place playoff, featuring DR Congo and South Africa will take place at 11 pm (EAT) on Saturday 10 February at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
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