Hugo Broos’ promise of taking Bafana Bafana back to the World Cup finals has come within days of being completed.
Bafana will be back in action on Friday (18:00) in what will be an away match against Lesotho at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
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Without a stadium which meets CAF standards back home, the landlocked neighbours have decided to host their match just under two hours from Maseru across the border on the N8.
Likuena are ranked 148 and for all the ambitions they could have, making it to the World Cup is far-fetched as they have never even made it to the AFCON finals or won the COSAFA Cup.
This means Friday’s match carries a lot more value to Bafana, who need the points to take them to 16 in Group C.
Should a Bafana win be coupled with Nigeria playing a draw with Rwanda at home, just like they have done in all their three home games to date, then the gap between first and second will be seven.
This will also be provided Benin don’t take all three points against Zimbabwe.
That scenario will take Bafana to 16 points, Rwanda and Benin on nine with Nigeria on eight.
Another win on Tuesday for Bafana against the Super Eagles will take them to 19 points.
Should Rwanda then fail to take all three points against Zimbabwe at Orlando Stadium on the same day, then it will be a done deal for Bafana.
There will still be another six points on offer in the group by then with games against Zimbabwe and Rwanda still coming in October.
Ultimately, whichever way this qualification is done, what matters is that Bafana have their qualification destiny in their own hands.
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 10th 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.
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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: Didier Lefa/Gallo Images
