Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki has expressed his disappointment at South Africa’s failure to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals.

South Africa failed to book their spot as part of the 24 teams heading for Cameroon next year following their 2-0 defeat by Sudan at the Khartoum International Stadium this past Sunday evening.

With the result Bafana finished the Group C qualifiers in third place, while Ghana and Sudan booked their place in the finals after finishing first and second in the group.

Ntseki expressed his disappointment at himself and has accepted responsibility for his side not qualifying for the biggest showpiece on the African continent.

‘I think as a head coach of Bafana Bafana, I came up with a turn-around strategy and I think everything started very well, because we managed to accumulate 10 points and needed only a point to qualify,’ Ntseki told Safa media after the match.

‘Yes, as a coach, as head of the selection committee, as head of the team, my disappointment is huge – it’s huge for my personal growth and my personal achievement as coach of Bafana Bafana.

‘The success of the team is my success, and the failure of the team firstly starts with me – to say, “I have failed as a coach”, because in football we need to own up.

‘When there is success, you become everybody’s favourite but when there is failure, you become an orphan and everybody looks at you and says, “You failed the team; you could not qualify”.

‘But things like this do happen in football, and we own up … it’s a big disappointment for myself.’