Bafana Bafana concluded their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers in style when they beat a hapless South Sudan 3-0 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday night.
The win means that Bafana concluded their group as leaders with 14 points and unbeaten in six matches.
Ahead of the game, Bafana coach Hugo Broos insisted that his side must treat the game with utmost importance, as the aim was to win the group.
Indeed, that was evident with his starting lineup, as he named a strong team against a South Sudan side that travelled with only 15 players due to cost-cutting measures.
It was one-way traffic from the onset, as the home side fed off the lively and exuberant Cape Town crowd, who came out in numbers to witness and enjoy ‘Broos ball.’
Iqraam Rayners registered the first goal in the seventh minute when he scored with an easy tap-in after speedy winger Oswin Appollis set him up with a lovely cut-back.
Dribbling wizard Patrick Maswanganyi slotted in the second goal of the match from close range after a rebound, when the South Sudanese goalkeeper could not deal with Teboho Mokoena’s venomous shot from outside the box.
The second half was more of the same, as Broos’ men picked up from where they left off and continued to terrorize the South Sudanese defense.
Mokoena increased South Africa’s tally to 3-0 from the penalty spot in the 50th minute to send the Capetonians into a frenzy.
Broos got an opportunity to make several substitutions, which saw Stellenbosch FC duo Sage Stephens and Devin Titus being handed their Bafana debuts.
Stephens replaced captain Ronwen Williams in goal, who walked out with a standing ovation in what was his 50th cap for South Africa.
In the dying stages of the game, Bafana were not looking to slow down, as they continued to charge forward in search of the fourth goal but they settled for three and walked away with three cool points.
Meanwhile, Bafana’s neighbours Botswana also booked a spot in the 2025 Afcon when they held Egypt to a 1-1 draw in Cairo. Botswana will now appear in the Afcon only for the second time in their history.
