Johannesburg– It’s déjà vu for Bafana Bafana as they find themselves in a similar situation to when they needed to avoid a loss against Sudan in the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.
Tonight at 9 pm, after an impressive qualification campaign, Bafana will face an overzealous Ghana side that needs a win to go through to the play-offs of the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers. It’s not an impossible task at all for the star-studded Black Stars.
It could end in tears for the young, up-and-coming South African boys, who outdid themselves in the five rounds of matches they have played so far.
Against all odds, Bafana coach Hugo Broos’ unknown players have won four matches with one draw, and have not recorded a single loss in the campaign. Like former coach Molefi Ntseki’s charges in Khartoum, Broos’ boys just need to avoid a defeat in Ghana.
Bafana wasted numerous scoring chances against Zimbabwe on Thursday and throughout the campaign, and this may come back to haunt them.
Ghana’s 1-1 draw against Ethiopia on Thursday means that Bafana is on 13 points and Ghana on 10 points. Both Ghana and South Africa have six goals. Should Ghana win 1-0, they will be level with Bafana on 13 points and will have seven goals, thus shattering the dreams of South Africans.
“We have done a good job to be where we are right now,” said Broos. “We have 13 points and dropped only two points. This made us confident and it’s not a disaster if we do not qualify. It’s a similar situation but with a much better team compared to Sudan.
Ghana is much stronger if you compare them with Sudan, it’s the same situation, but we cannot lose.
“I am surprised that we are still number one, especially with a team like Ghana in our group. Therefore, the players must do their best to qualify for the next round, and if we do not succeed, it is still okay.
“I will tell the players that if they do not succeed there’s no reason to be blamed and that they have done a good job. I am expecting everything from Ghana,” said Broos.
“If they win 1-0 or 5-4 or 10-9 we are out. So, we have to do what we have to do and try and win the game.
It is important that we are ready from the first minute. Ghana will do everything because it is more important to them to be at the World Cup because they are always there, they are one of the best teams in Africa. Let’s hope we can take advantage of the current situation.
“It does not change our approach, the biggest mistake we can make is to defend from the first minute and they score in the 89th minute and then you cannot react. You cannot rule it out. We must make them feel the pain and not be comfortable,” he added.
What Fifa regulations stipulate
Bafana cannot afford to lose, any draw or win would see them through, while Ghana needs a win.
Fifa rules on the matter:
- a) greatest number of points in all group matches;
- b) goal difference in all group matches;
- c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above criteria, their qualification for the next round shall be determined as follows:
- d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches;
- e) goal difference resulting from the group matches;
- f) greater number of goals scored in all group matches;
- g) the goals scored away from home count double (if the tie is only between two teams);
- h) fair play points system in which the number of yellow and red cards in all group matches is considered.
- first yellow card: minus 1 point
- second yellow card/indirect red card: minus 3 points
- direct red card: minus 4 points
- yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
- i) drawing of lots by the Fifa organising committee preliminary competition organisation. – Goal.com
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