Bafana Bafana’s prime target of completing a successful qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will come with added benefits.
South Africa’s senior national team has its destiny in its own hands, enjoying a five-point lead at the top of Group C with four games to play.
Next up is Lesotho on Friday in Bloemfontein, before Nigeria arrives for a hugely anticipated encounter next Tuesday in the same city.
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Six points from these two matches will take Bafana to 18 points in this group with two matches to play in October against Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
Twenty-one points will have Hugo Broos’ men home and dry without the discomfort of looking over their shoulders.
Even 20 might be enough as this is the maximum that either Rwanda or Benin can reach if they win all their remaining games.
This instance will have the two cancelling each other as they are due to meet next month, while it will also rule Nigeria out of the qualification equation with the two countries to play the Super Eagles.
The most populous country has no room for error if they are to keep their hopes alive and need all 12 points left to play for against Rwanda, South Africa, Lesotho, and Benin.
For Bafana, completing the qualification by taking all points remaining to play for will come with the benefit of moving into the top 50 on the FIFA rankings.
Bafana currently sit on position 56 on the world rankings, which equates to 100th on the continent.
The last time Bafana got into the top 50 bracket was October 2011 when they shot up as high as 38th just a year after hosting the World Cup.
However, the highest that Bafana ever went was 16th, which was in August 1996 just months after lifting the AFCON on home soil.
The next FIFA rankings will be released on September 18.
"The game on Friday is a must-win, we can’t afford to lose points against Lesotho," says Broos.
"And that doesn’t mean I underestimate that opponent.
"That will be the biggest mistake we can make now to think that it is only Lesotho, and we will win.
"Lesotho played a draw in Nigeria last year and they are our neighbours, so we have to be careful.
"We have to keep the pressure on our opponents.
"When we win the game on Friday, job is done, and it is up to our opponents to do better than we or at least as good as we.
"It will be a good situation for us if we can win the game on Friday," says Broos.
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After the World Cup qualifiers, Bafana will end the year at the AFCON finals in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, where they will have Angola, Egypt, and Zimbabwe in their group.
The senior national team are through to their 12th appearance at the biennial competition, doing so after an impressive bronze medal finish at the previous tournament held in Cote d'Ivoire.
Photo: Daniel Hlongwane/Gallo Images
