Former Mamelodi Sundowns striker Sandile 'AK-47' Ndlovu has come down hard to those who believe Bafana Bafana's fairy tale run in the 2023 AFCON is down to luck and not because they are good.
On Wednesday South Africa will face Nigeria in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup Of Nations.
"It's normal for those who wished to see the Bafana Bafana team not doing well to talk like that," Ndlovu tells KickOff.
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"Bafana Bafana are playing against 11 players, it's been 11 v 11, that alone shows how good Bafana are. Nobody thought this Bafana Bafana team would one day win an AFCON match by 4-0. The fact that they beat Morocco 2-0 proves these boys worked hard.
"Yes, in football you do need a bit of luck to win, but you first have to work for it, so Bafana they have made their luck by playing the South African way. So they deserve what they've achieved so far, and they also deserve to be in the semi-finals," he said.
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"To me, Wednesday's game is a final before the final, each time South Africa meets Nigeria the grass suffers. Whoever wins in this fixture will win the cup. This Bafana has one or two overseas-based players.
"Every South African is a Sundowns supporter these days, it's Sundowns players who are representing our national team. I applaud what coach Hugo Broos and Helman Mkhalele are doing for this country, I like their bravery.
"The last time we saw such bravery in our national team was in 1996."