South Africa’s head coach, Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba, is still confident his team can still shake things up at the Nations Cup and bounce back after a 3-1 loss to Algeria in its opening match Monday in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea.
The South Africans took a 1-0 lead early in the second half on a goal by Thuso Phala. But Algeria, Africa’s highest-ranked team, then stormed back with three goals in the span of 16 minutes.
Mashaba said his team let its guard down after Phala’s goal:
South Africa will play Senegal January 23 and Ghana January 27 in its final two group matches. Both games are in Mongomo.