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Mbombela - Following the 2-0 loss to Bafana Bafana over the weekend, Ivory Coast head coach Herve Renard has admitted that the South Africans were too strong for his youthful team.
PLAYER RATINGS: Bafana Bafana v Ivory Coast
As it happened: Bafana Bafana v Ivory Coast
The Elephants endured an unexpected defeat against Bafana in the Nelson Mandela Challenge match played at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga on Sunday.
Renard, who won the 2012 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) as coach of Zambia, hinted that the defeat was a learning curve to his young team and they still have a lot to do before reaching the level he wants them to be.
“I think the game was too fast for us today,” said Renard.
“The score was very good for us considering how we played.
“This South African team was better than us everywhere throughout the match.
“I think we only got two chances in the match which is not enough to expect a good result in football.
“It was a good lesson to our young players and now we know that we have a lot of work to do when we get home.
“Congratulations to South Africa.”
Victory for South Africa meant that Bafana are yet to taste defeat against the West African giants in five meetings which dates back to the 1998 AFCON in Burkina Faso.
