South Africa coach Hugo Broos believes Bafana Bafana have proved many people wrong including South Africans themselves after securing their place in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was the hero as South Africa beat Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties following a 0-0 result in 120 minutes to advance to the last four where they will come up against Nigeria.

After a tense last eight clash ended 0-0 at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro on Saturday night, Williams remarkably saved four spot-kicks in the shootout to send Bafana Bafana through.

“When we got to the penalty shootout, it was a special thing for the players, because during training they were scoring them. When we have a goalkeeper who stops four penalty kicks, this is not luck but a lot of hard work,” said Broos.

“Not many people in South Africa believed in this team, but we believed in it, and the players believed in themselves as well. Reaching the semi-finals is in itself a good thing for South African football.”

Discussing the game against the Blue Sharks, Broos said: “There was a lot of pressure in the match. Everyone wanted to qualify. This match was unlike the previous ones. We did not show the same performance as we had in previous matches.”

On facing the in-form Super Eagles in the last four, Broos said: “The semi-final match will be different against Nigeria, which has good players like Lookman. We will not lose focus. The players will be in good condition, so we need to rest and recover to start our preparation.”