The outfit was stunned by the Zebras 7-6 in penalties after the match finished 0-0 in 90 minutes on Sunday.
Now they will contest the plate semifinal against Malawi on Thursday at the Royal Bafokeng Sport Palace.
Mashaba went into the tournament stating that Bafana Bafana needed to start by conquering the Southern Africa region if they are to ever conquer the entire continent. But those ambitions went crashing down when their misfiring ways saw them beaten by a Botswana side that started with just one player from their South African based contingent.
As Botswana celebrated, the more than 11 000 people who made the trip to Moruleng Stadium left dejected and disappointed.
“The problem here is that we will talk the media language versus the technical language,” Mashaba said.
“I hear you say that this is failure. I don’t know in terms of what because we competed until the penalty shoot outs.
Botswana, like other countries don’t have depth. When they get this kind of result, you have to cheer for them. It shows that the coach is doing something right. There is something brewing in the pot. People will tell you that South Africa has lots of depth, it’s not about who you have in the team but about what can they do.”
