South African defender Siyanda Xulu believes Bafana Bafana achieved their target despite not reaching the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

Bafana Bafana reached the semi-finals of the competition where they were disappointingly knocked out by Nigeria on penalties in Bouake on Wednesday.

This was the first semi-final appearance since 2000 by Hugo Broos’ charges who will now contest the third place play-off against Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday in Abidjan.

Speaking ahead of the clash against the Leopards, Xulu said he was happy with the team’s performance and the progress they have shown in their time at the AFCON.

“We had our own goal as a team. We wanted to go as far as we could. We know very well of our quality and especially from the coach who is one person who has always believed in us as a team. To go this far was our objective. Reaching the semi-final is a dream. Yes, we wanted to take it home, but we couldn’t, but we can be proud of the performance,” said Xulu as quoted by CAFOnline.

The last time the 1996 champions played the third and fourth play-off was in 2000 where they won 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw against Tunisia.