A 2023 Africa Cup of Nations star who featured in the third-place playoff against Bafana Bafana has revealed that his mother told him to quit playing as a goalkeeper after four years in the role.
The AFCON bronze medal match between South Africa and DR Congo started with a pinch of drama, with the match official who was initially elected for the match, Redouane Jayed, refusing to take charge of the game as he felt disappointed about not being given the final instead.
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The match, however, continued as planned, featuring Brentford star Yoane Wissa in attack for the Leopards, with Bafana triumphing following a penalty shootout victory.
Although the forward could not score against South Africa, he did put up a superb performance at the competition in the Ivory Coast, and was named in the AFCON Team of the Tournament.
However, he has revealed that things could have been very different were it not for his mother.
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"I actually started as a goalkeeper because the day before a game I played with my friend and, when I was in goal, he didn't score. The keeper wasn't there and my friend told the coach I did well," Wissa explained to his club's official website, per The Sun.
"I played there for maybe four years from when I was seven until 11.
"After that, I moved into midfield because my mother said that she didn't want me to play there anymore because the keeper doesn't do much during the game.
"So, I told that to my head coach and I moved to play as a No. 6 in midfield for maybe two years, then the next two years I played as a No. 10 and a winger.
"And then I started scoring a lot of goals and then, when I went to Chateauroux, I started as a striker."
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