Bafana Bafana cannot qualify for the World Cup through playoffs if they don’t win Group C on Tuesday. The only way forward is direct qualification. Fans should not hope for a backup plan because there isn’t one.
South Africa’s national team sits in eighth position among second-placed teams. They are four points behind the team in fourth place. Even if they win their match against Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday at 6pm they cannot reach the top four spots among runner-up teams.
The best four teams that finished second will compete in a playoff tournament in Morocco in March. These matches will decide who gets the remaining spots.
Bafana is now in a difficult position. They lost three points when FIFA punished them for using Teboho Mokoena in their 2-0 victory against Lesotho back in March. This led to extra pressure in their recent game against Zimbabwe in Durban which ended in a 0-0 draw. The team was doing well before but now they face a tough challenge ahead.
South Africa needs to win against Rwanda to have any chance of qualifying. They have 15 points and a +3 goal difference right now. Benin is ahead with 17 points & +5 goals. South Africa must hope that Nigeria beats Benin in their game at Uyo. If Benin gets a draw South Africa would need to win by at least three goals to move ahead. Both teams have scored 12 goals so far. If they end up with the same goal difference the number of goals scored will be the deciding factor.
South Africa has a good chance to advance if they score two goals. This works because they beat Benin twice earlier & would win the head-to-head matchup. They also need the game in Uyo to end in a low-scoring tie. If these things happen South Africa will move forward in the tournament.
Another possible outcome is that both Benin and South Africa win their games. This would put South Africa in second place with 18 points. However this score won’t be enough to move forward. The playoff system works like this: four teams play in semifinals and then a final match. The winner gets to play in a two-game series against another team from a different continent. South Africa would miss out on this chance.
When Eritrea left Group E in November CAF made a new rule in March. They decided that any games played against teams in sixth place would not be counted when ranking the second-best teams across all groups.
The teams are close in their group standings right now. Gabon leads with 16 points after playing seven games and has one game left. Cameroon sits in second place with 15 points after eight games. Burkina Faso has also played eight games and has 15 points. Niger is in fourth place with 15 points from eight games. These positions might still change as some teams have matches left to play.
South Africa’s national team has 11 points after seven games in Group C. They are behind other teams like DR Congo with 13 points Uganda with 12 points and Madagascar also with 13 points. All these points are counted without games against Zimbabwe who will finish last in the group.
South Africa can only qualify if they beat Rwanda and Nigeria defeats Benin. They could also make it through if the Nigeria vs Benin game ends in a tie.
South Africa’s national team struggled in their match against Zimbabwe at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday. Meanwhile Benin moved to the top of Group C after winning 1-0 in their away game against Rwanda in Kigali.
The Super Eagles’ path to qualification has been difficult. They started Group C poorly with three draws and one loss. They tied with Lesotho at home then Zimbabwe away and South Africa at home. After that they lost to Benin in an away game. Things have improved since then though. The team changed coaches and went on to stay undefeated for five games straight. This has kept them in the running for qualification as they sit in third place with 14 points. But getting a good result in Nigeria won’t be easy.
Nigeria played against South Africa last month in Bloemfontein & got a draw. Their star player Victor Osimhen was not there for that game. But he came back to the team this month and played in their match against Lesotho. Nigeria won that game 2-1 in Polokwane on Friday.
South Africa showed their strength by winning against Benin both at home & away. They won 2-1 at home & 2-0 in Benin. This might mean they really want to qualify for the World Cup for the first time ever. Benin’s team known as The Cheetahs seems to face a tough challenge. They will likely struggle against Nigeria’s stronger team when playing away.
Benin’s journey in Group C began with a loss to South Africa at home. They scored one goal but South Africa got two. After that they tied with Lesotho in an away game with no goals. Things got better when they won against Rwanda at home and beat Nigeria too. They later tied with Zimbabwe in an away match. South Africa beat them again in their next away game. But Benin bounced back. They won against Zimbabwe at home then crushed Lesotho in an away match. Their latest win was against Rwanda on Friday. South Africa lost some points which helped Benin move up in the rankings.
