Khumalo Reveals Winning Strategy As Bafana Reach COSAF Cup Final
Bafana Bafana COSAFA Cup coach Vela Khumalo has revealed that the team’s strategy against Comoros was clear from the outset: score an early goal to set the tone, ensuring South Africa left nothing to chance.
South Africa’s makeshift squad advanced to the final of the COSAFA Cup after a convincing 3-1 victory over Comoros at Free State Stadium on a cold Friday night in Bloemfontein.
The match began with an early advantage for South Africa when Mohamed Idris of Comoros scored an unfortunate own goal, putting his team on the back foot. Just minutes later, Orlando Pirates striker Boitumelo Radiopane doubled South Africa’s lead in the 14th minute with a goal that was initially reviewed by VAR but ultimately allowed to stand.
Comoros responded in the 29th minute through Madi Ibrahim, who found the back of the net to reduce the deficit to 2-1, keeping his side in the contest. The goal injected some momentum into the Comoros side, but they were unable to capitalize further in the first half.
In the second half, South Africa regained control and sealed the win when Kamogelo Sebelebele scored, extending the lead to 3-1. Despite some resistance from Comoros, South Africa maintained their composure and comfortably saw out the remainder of the match.
“We said we were going to play with two attacking midfielders (‘two tenths’), and one main striker. We wanted to score early to unsettle them and open them up, because if you look at the teams we’ve been playing against, they sit back and then catch us on set-plays and standard situations,” said the Kaizer Chiefs DStv Diski Challenge coach. “So, in this case, what we said was, ‘Let’s get a quick goal, let’s unsettle them, let’s play the ball behind them, but let’s draw them in because they were the main markers.’ We said, ‘Let’s have the two attacking midfielders draw them in, and then we punch up with the striker.’ It has worked for us, and I’m happy that we scored the goals we needed this time around.”
South Africa delivered a solid performance to book their spot in the COSAFA Cup final. With sharp attacking play and strong defensive organization, they proved too much for Comoros and will now look ahead to the final with confidence.
South Africa will face Angola in the COSAFA Cup 2025 final, with the showdown scheduled at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Sunday at 15:00.
