It’s not the end of the road… that’s the view of Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, following his team’s failure to beat Zimbabwe in a tough Group C 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Durban, Friday night.
The match against the ultra-defensive Zimbabweans ended in a goalless draw.
South Africa dropped two valuable points, that have allowed group leaders Benin to extend their lead at the top of the table by two points. Third-placed Nigeria have also clawed their way back into contention after a 2-1 win over Lesotho in Polokwane.
Once again, football fans in South Africa have taken out their calculators to work out what must happen for Bafana to qualify for the World Cup.
Not long ago, South Africa were in the driving seat, but things took a dramatic turn when FIFA deducted three points from the team for fielding midfielder Teboho Mokoeana, who was ineligible to play against Lesotho.
Broos has transformed the national team since his appointment in May 2021. But even the Belgian mentor, tipped by many to help end Bafana’s long drought, admitted it’s now becoming a little tougher to qualify for the World Cup.
“No, the situation becomes more difficult now than before. This game, but even if it’s not a hundred percent lost, it can still happen; it will be. It will be very important what happens in the game between Nigeria and Benin; we will see what results will be there, but on the other side, we don’t have to really look. If we win the game, we will see what happens, and that is the most important thing. I think we will be one or two days a little bit down, but I will do everything to have again a team that believes on Tuesday we will try to win the game with as mush goals as possible because now it will be maybe the goal difference that will decide who goes to America.”
Benin are still leading the group and also have a superior goal difference. South Africa and Nigeria are now separated by just a single point and have a similar goal difference.
South Africa play Rwanda on Tuesday, while Nigeria and Benin will face each other in the final round of qualifiers.
“It’s a good thing for us that Nigeria can even be first in the group, so they have to win against Benin in the last game, and then it depends first of all if we win and with how many goals, and if Nigeria wins also with how many goals. So the biggest danger is now Benin. If we win, Nigeria cannot be over us, but if we don’t win, it’s finished. But if Benin lose, we can win maybe with two goal difference, then it’s still possible,” Broos explains.
Zimbabwean vice-captain, Marshall Munetsi agrees that the race is far from over in Group C.
“I have a teammate who plays for Nigeria. As soon as he saw that South Africa had deducted three points, he was on my case at training, so I think it’s exciting for African football. I think everybody was watching how the group is gonna be like. But obviously South Africa have really been doing well. I think if you check their record in the last Afcon, they have been progressing very well. I think for us, we are just here to enjoy the game and we are doing that for Afcon. I think for other teams, they have the pressure, so I’m looking forward to see what’s gonna happen in the last game.”
The CAF qualifiers will wrap up on Tuesday to confirm the nine African nations that will represent the continent at the very first World Cup featuring 48 teams.
