CHAN: South Africa must keep believing because nothing is lost – Kutumela

South Africa midfielder Thabiso Kutumela has called on his teammates to stay grounded and take it a game at a time following their 2-1 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) victory against Guinea in Kampala, Uganda on Monday.

The 32-year-old, who plays for Richards Bay in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), scored one goal and set up another in a game that swung from control to chaos before Bafana Bafana finally sealed the points.

Kutumela set up Neo Maema to score the opener with only 10 minutes played, before Moussa Camara briefly put Guinea level. However, Kutumela grabbed the winner in the 54th minute to earn the Man of the Match award, and reaffirmed his status as one of the team’s driving forces in the CHAN.

“I’m happy to have won the award, but this trophy is dedicated to all my teammates, the coach, and the entire technical staff,” he said. “These points boost our morale after the draw in the previous game. It was a tough match, we scored and then dropped back to defend, which cost us a goal that allowed Guinea to equalise.”

He added: “This game is important, every game will be important, and we cannot afford to drop points until we face Uganda and Niger, our last opponents. I understand that South Africa practices ball retention, but that depends on each game’s situation. We need to keep believing until the end because nothing is lost. This was a morale-boosting and deserved victory considering all the work this team has done.”

The result moved South Africa into contention with four points, temporarily behind Algeria while Guinea remained on one point and will need both victory in their last match and favourable results elsewhere to stay alive in the tournament.