After suffering a late defeat to South Africa, South Sudan head coach Nicolas Dupuis hailed Bafana Bafana as "one of the best in Africa".
A double by Oswin Appollis and a 95th minute strike by substitute Thalente Mbatha ensured that South Africa picked up a 3-2 victory over their Group K opponent in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday afternoon.
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The result saw South Africa move up to second place in the group after their 2-2 draw on Friday with Uganda, who are currently in first position courtesy of goal difference.
Speaking after the encounter against Hugo Broos and his side, Dupuis said he was proud of his players despite the loss, and went on to praise the level of the opposition.
"I can say I'm very proud of my players today because it was South Africa. They are very good players. It's a very, very good team," the head coach said.
"One of the best in Africa, actually. So I'm very proud of them.
"Now, the first half was, tactically, not very good because [Rashid Thomas] Okocha and Loki [Emmanuel] always had to defend one against two."
The Brights Stars had previously conceded a stoppage-time goal when they took on Sudan in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier earlier this year, with Dupuis highlighting this as a problem that needs to be addressed.
"We have a little problem during extra-time, because they scored at 46 minutes and they scored at 95," the French tactician added.
"We have to work [on] the spirit. You have to work during not 90 minutes or 45 minutes, but during all the game, because against Sudan it was at 46, against South Africa it's 46 and 95."
Regardless of conceding so late on in the game, the former Madagascar manager expressed the pride he had for his team's performance.
"I'm very proud of them. Even they do a mistake, it's not bad to do that. Because I'm very proud of them, they were very good, the three players in central defence," he concluded.
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