Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has poured out his feelings following their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final defeat to Nigeria.
South Africa dragged the Super Eagles to a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra-time tie on Wednesday.
Hugo Broos’ men then succumbed 4-2 on penalties and missed out on playing in the final of the continental tournament.
In remarks that echo his coach Broos’ sentiments that it is Bafana who should be in the final instead of Nigeria, Williams believes South Africa deserved the victory more.
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“Obviously, we still feel devastated, hurt, a lot of pain,” Williams told Safa media.
“But in saying that, I’m so immensely proud of the boys. Day in, day out we showed resilience, we showed brotherhood.
“I think this team deserved to be in the final just for the brotherhood we showed and the hard work we did over the last five weeks.
“So, as much as I’m feeling sad, I’m so proud about each and every member of the squad.”
The “brotherhood” mentioned by Williams could be key for Bafana going forward in a team that was growing in confidence with each passing AFCON game.
This was after they recovered from the 2-0 loss to Mali in their tournament opener before hammering Namibia 4-0 and then frustrating Tunisia in a 0-0 draw to knock them out at the group stages, while Bafana progressed in second place.
Beating and eliminating Morocco in the Round of 16 was the peak of their performance as they then dumped out Cape Verde via a penalty shootout before the Nigeria match.
