PLAYER RATINGS: Bafana Bafana v Ivory Coast
As it happened: Bafana Bafana v Ivory Coast
Bafana defeated the Elephants 2-0 in the 20th edition of the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge match, courtesy of Bongani Zungu and David Zulu strikes.
The Bidvest Wits midfield maestro hinted that Shakes Mashaba’s youthful team were nervous in the opening stages of their encounter, but stood their ground to overcome the West African giants.
“Obviously it was nerve-wracking at the beginning,” said Nhlapo.
“But we told ourselves that that the coach gave us a chance and it’s time for change and I think we are part of those changes.
“We are hungry to play for our nation. Our nation doesn’t owe us anything but we owe it to our nation to go out there and represent them the way we did.
“We are very proud of ourselves because we have made our country proud.”