Cape Verde coach Pedro 'Bubista' Brito spoke of his pride despite his side's dramatic TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations exit on penalties to South Africa in the quarter-finals.
The teams played out a 0-0 draw over 120 gruelling minutes before Bafana Bafana prevailed 3-1 on spot kicks to shatter Cape Verde's fairytale run.
"Congratulations to South Africa, we wanted to win but that's football," a gracious Bubista said after the game.
"We had a fantastic team and faced worthy opponents too. We had opportunities to win the match but couldn't take them."
Bubista believed his organised and energetic Cape Verde side deserved to reach the semi-finals after their heroics at the tournament.
"Our supporters should be pleased with what we've achieved here, we earned the right to be in the last four," he stated.
The coach lamented his team's lack of cutting edge despite often dominating the dogged South Africans.
"At times we were the better team but in tournaments, if you don't take chances it becomes difficult, and penalties involve some luck too," he reflected.
Bubista refused to blame the players who missed their spot kicks, including captain Patrick Andrade.
"The penalty takers are our best players but when you're tired it's not easy," he said.
"I'm so proud of what my players have shown here in Ivory Coast, they've represented Cape Verde wonderfully."
In their first AFCON knockout stage, the Blue Sharks emerged with immense credit before cruelly falling at the final hurdle.