Bafana Bafana's latest meeting with Sierra Leone today might only be a friendly international but will bring painful memories to a time when the country's national team went on a 'dance of shame'.
It was 11 years ago that Pitso Mosimane's Bafana arrived at Mbombela Stadium in a 2012 AFCON qualifier against The Leone Stars.
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Bafana should have won to secure qualification and avoid looking over their shoulders, but they chose to settle for a draw believing that it would be enough to take them through as they had a plus two goal difference compared to Niger's minus two in Group G.
Unaware of the rules, Bafana players went in celebration after the match believing that they had qualified for the AFCON finals only to then find out that they had not moments later.
What they had failed to do is read and understand was that the head-to-head tiebreaker would be used first in instances of two countries finishing on the same number of points like what happened in that group with Niger, Bafana, and Sierra Leone all on nine points.
Minus results against bottom-placed Egypt in that group, Niger ended up tops and thus qualified.
That meant Bafana failed to qualify for the second consecutive AFCON finals.
Mosimane ultimately didn't stay long in the job and was sacked the following year.
Of the players who took to the field that day in Mbombela only Itumeleng Khune, Andile Jali, and Bernard Parker are still playing in the PSL.
Anele Ngcongca is now late, Morgan Gould, Siyabonga Sangweni, Siboniso Gaxa, Thanduyise Khuboni, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala, and Katlego Mphela are all retired.
Daylon Claasen now plays in Egypt, and Oupa Manyisa is in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
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