Egypt were left stunned as Thembinkosi Lorch’s late strike silenced the home fans to send South Africa to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals.
A daunting task awaited Bafana Bafana on Saturday night as they took to the field in front of a packed Cairo International Stadium.
Coming up against the hosts Egypt in the Round of 16, Bafana were clear underdogs on paper, having snuck into the knockout rounds as one of the four best third-placed teams, while the Pharaohs were among the tournament favourites – boasting a 100% win record thus far in the competition.
Their chances were given an even further boost with the news that talisman Mohamed Salah had shrugged off illness ahead of kick-off and was raring to go.
But with the match looking destined for a further 30 minutes, a well-worked move saw Bafana finally break the deadlock when Lorch showed great composure to deliver what proved to be the killer blow, stunning the Egypt fans into complete silence and justifying calls for his selection after being snubbed during the Group Stage.
