South Africa’s senior national football team Bafana Bafana will head to next month’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers still in control of Group C.
Hugo Broos’ men were held to a 1-1 draw by Nigeria in a tense FIFA World Cup qualifier played at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday night.
The point moved Bafana Bafana to 17 points from eight matches, followed by Benin (14 points), Nigeria (11 points), and Rwanda (11 points).
Bafana Bafana will play Zimbabwe (away) and Rwanda (home) in their last two matches, and depending on other results, a point could be enough to secure a spot at next year’s FIFA World Cup in North America.
The match against neighbours Zimbabwe is likely to take place in South Africa given the fact that the Warriors play their matches in SA because their stadiums don’t meet international standards, meaning Bafana Bafana can finish the job at home.
Broos was pleased with the way the 1996 African champions played against Nigeria, a kind of performance he would hope they repeat in October to ensure qualification.
“The performance of my team, in this game, makes me enormously proud. It may not have been good football at times, not at all, but the way they fought for every ball was nice to see for a coach,” said Broos.
Meanwhile, Morocco and Tunisia are the two African nations to have already secured their spots for the global showpiece.
Egypt, Senegal, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Algeria, and Ghana all lead their respective groups heading into the final two fixtures next month.
Africa is guaranteed nine spots at the World Cup, with all group winners securing automatic qualification, and there would be a second chance for the teams that finish second in their groups.
The four best group runners-up will be drawn into play-offs to determine the sole CAF representative at the inter-confederation play-offs.
