Bafana Bafana play to a morale-boosting draw with Ivory Coast

Bafana Bafana showed character and resolve as they played to a 1-1 draw with Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Tuesday night.

Hugo Broos had challenged his team to rise from their dismal performance against eSwatini at FNB Stadium on Friday. They did so in style, frustrating an expectant crowd and making one of the favourites for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) next year, and the tournament hosts, look pedestrian. In fact, the draw felt like a letdown for Bafana, who created enough chances to slaughter the Elephants only to be let down by poor finishing.

Bafana showed their intentions early into the match, taking the lead just eight minutes into this game through Themba Zwane's brilliance. The Bafana playmaker linked up with his Mamelodi Sundowns teammate Teboho Mokoena to pierce open the hosts' defence and give Bafana the lead. That goal gave Bafana an extra bounce in their step, looking more at home than the Ivoirians, who used this match to fine-tune their preparations to host the continent.

The draw flattered Ivory Coast, who were second best in every regard. Sebastien Haller breathed a sigh of relief when he equalised for Ivory Coast after struggling to beat Ronwen Williams. Before Haller's free header just after the hour-mark, the Borussia Dortmund forward had failed to score when he went one-on-one with Williams, much to the frustration of the sold-out crowd.

Despite putting a star-studded line-up, Ivory Coast were made to sweat by the team they have only beaten once in their eight meetings. That win came at the 2019 Afcon, with Bafana winning two of those games and the other five ending in these draws.

This draw would have boosted Bafana's confidence in a challenging international window where the team looked to be taking