Mokoena and Sithole are Bafana’s rock and can make life tough for Morocco

Bafana Bafana’s midfield partnership of Teboho Mokoena and Sphephelo “Yaya” Sithole is the rock on which their progression past the Africa Cup of Nations group stage was built — and arguably the biggest threat to World Cup semifinalists Morocco’s further progression.

Hugo Broos’s South Africa meet counterpart Walid Regragui’s crack Atlas Lions at Stade Laurent Pokou, San-Pedro, Ivory Coast, on Tuesday night (10pm, SA time).

Of course it is a mismatch in pedigree and recent accomplishment between the first and 12th-ranked teams in Africa.

But in a tournament characterised by upsets, Bafana will hope the confidence from their battling comeback to progress in second place in group E and decent record against Morocco (three wins, three draws and two defeats in eight matches) can give them a chance of another shock result in Ivory Coast.

There were a few influential players in the group stage for South Africa. Percy Tau and Themba Zwane’s experience and destructive ability up front have been complemented by young Thapelo Maseko’s energy on the wing. The Mamelodi Sundowns quartet of Khuliso Mudau, Grant Kekana, Mothobi Mvala and Maphosa Modiba have shown themselves capable of containing defences at the back.

But it has been the intelligence and dynamism of Sundowns’ Mokoena, alongside and aided by the muscle of Portuguese second division outfit CD Tondela’s Sithole, that Regragui is likely to have identified as Bafana’s strength.

“Yaya is the guy more with the energy and the power,” Broos said in the build-up to the last-16 clash.

“Teboho is more the intelligent guy, the guy who is the better football player than Sithole. But both [together] make a very good team in the midfield.

“I'm happy with Teboho, who we knew. He has been a very good player in his role. But what I see now from Sithole at Afcon is he has made big progress and he is a big help for Teboho in the midfield, certainly for recycling of the ball, for the power.

“They complement each other well and I’m very happy with them.”

After a 2-0 opening defeat to Mali, Bafana bounced back with a 4-0 win against Namibia and 0-0 draw against Tunisia to end on four points, above Namibia on goal difference and a point behind the Malians.

Morocco beat Tanzania 3-0, drew 1-1 against Democratic Republic of Congo and won 1-0 against Zambia to top group F.

The winners of Tuesday’s match meet Cape Verde, who beat Mauritania 1-0 in the last-16 clash on Monday, in Saturday’s quarterfinal in Yamoussoukro.