Johannesburg – Same ol’, same ol’ Bafana Bafana always make heavy weather of their qualification for major tournaments, the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and the World Cup, leaving everyone to do the maths by losing or drawing matches they should have comfortably won at home.
Qualifying for next year’s 33rd edition of Africa’s biennial finals in Cameroon, an elite tournament equivalent of the Euros finals in Europe, has been plagued by hurdle after hurdle on the field of play.
In their opening match of the Afcon qualifiers against the strongest team in Group C, the Black Stars of Ghana, Bafana were trounced 2-0 away, then quickly got the campaign back on track with an 1-0 victory over a lucklustre Sudan side, failing in their backyard to overpower the average east Africans.
To prove to all and sundry, and even the doubting Thomases, that we are a force to be reckoned with in African football, Bafana should have taught the Ghanaians a football lesson at FNB Stadium on Thursday.
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Critically, the visitors were reduced to a second-string side as a number of their overseas-based players did not pitch due to the Covid-19 Fifa rules.
But alas, it was not to be.
The deflating one-goal apiece draw has dampened the nation’s spirits following all-round jubilant celebrations when one of our own, football el supremo Patrice Motsepe was crowned the most powerful man in African football as CAF president.
Let me take you a step back, confidence in South Africa having an easy passage to qualify for Cameroon 2021 was buoyed by the six points Bafana amassed during the 2-0 and 4-2 victories over Group C whipping boys Sao Tome and Principe.
Thereafter, the 1-0 defeat of Sudan gave South Africa a healthy nine-point cushion before facing Ghana. The unnecessary draw with Ghana at home, where Bafana should be playing for maximum points to ease the pressure often experienced in away matches, has made booking a ticket to the west Africa finals a headache.
More so for the Bafana followers, who couldn’t cheer their stars on because of Covid-19 non-attendance at live games.
Now for the calculators, after average Sudan recorded an emphatic 2-0 win against Sao Tome and Principe, and Bafana played to a 1-all draw in Joburg, thanks to Percy Tau’s goal, a loss against Sudan today spells calamity.
Ghana lead the group by virtue of the intricate head-to head rule (selecting two football teams and comparing their results one-on-one), giving them the advantage to get a berth at the Cameroon 2021 finals already, despite being level with SA on 10 points.
Sudan are third with nine points, but if they manage to thrash South Africa today, they will leapfrog SA to become the second qualifying side in the group.
That unthinkable, but possible scenario will deny Motsepe the chance to watch his countrymen in action at the finals, where he will be presiding for the first time as the CAF head honcho.
No doubt a win at home against the Black Stars, who face group minnows Sao Tome and Principe, would have made things lighter in Khartoum and the match would have been a dead rubber as Bafana would have already qualified. A draw or win against Sudan is non-negotiable.
So, it’s draw, win or bust for Mzansi today.
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