Themba Zwane was once deemed too old for international football, but he proved on Sunday night that age is just a number by scoring two goals as Bafana Bafana beat Namibia 4-0.
A 2-0 loss to Mali in their African Cup of Nations opener last week meant the match was a must-win for South Africa and they roared into a three-goal lead by half-time.
Zwane netted twice (guiding home a Thapelo Maseko cross before a superb dribble and shot from an angle to double his tally) after Percy Tau opened the scoring from the spot.
Maseko put the icing on the cake with a second half strike, as coach Hugo Broos hailed his team’s ability to change their game plan.
Broos explains: “Maybe [it] was not the football of South Africa. We are a team who like to play football, but…
“It doesn’t always have to be nice football and good combination, technique and style.
“Sometimes you have to fight for it and kick the ball and you need the players who run after the ball.
“And that was the case with the maestro in the midfield, Themba. We know, and I said it already several times, when Themba plays well the team plays well.
“We saw it again, even if it was not really his football… he knew where to go and we could always give the ball to him.”
Zwane, who was once dropped by Broos because he reckoned the player was too old for international soccer, tells Caf’s website of his performance: “Each game, I go with confidence of scoring goals. Players that attack need to score, and I am glad to have scored and received this award. It means a lot to get the Man of the Match award and very happy to get the win.”
The win lifted South Africa to second on the log, with one more group match to play against Tunisia tomorrow night.
Namibia face log leaders Mali at the same time as the two teams hunt for places in the last 16.