South Africans may as well start throwing some bit of money into their savings, because Bafana Bafana have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the US next year.
South Africa eased past Rwanda with a 3-0 win during their final Group C World Cup qualifier at the Mbombela Stadium, in Mpumalanga, on Tuesday night.
Nigeria, on the other hand, did Bafana a favour when they walloped Benin 3-0 in Uyo through Victor Osimhen’s hat-trick.
Bafana could not have asked for a better start in the game, as Thalente Mbatha broke the deadlock five minutes in, when he pulled his trademark shot from range and beat Fiacre Ntwari on his near-post to send Mbombela into a frenzy.
The Mbombela crowd got even crazier when they discovered that Nigeria was also doing the job in Uyo, as they scored three minutes into their game against Benin through Osimhen.
It did not end there, as things were really falling into place for Bafana, with Oswin Appollis doubling the lead to head into half-time with their noses in front. Osimhen was also in the mood, as he also took the Super Eagles to half-time leading 2-0.
Osimhen was seemingly in the mood and eager to take the Super Eagles to the Americas when he completed his hat-trick six minutes into the second half and basically sealed the deal for Bafana, who came out on top with a 3-0 victory over Amavubi, after Evidence Makgopa put a nail in the coffin.
Take a bow to coach Hugo Broos, who came on board on May 5, 2021, and brought back the love, hope, and joy to the beloved Bafana Bafana. This does not happen often, but credit must be given to the SA Football Association (Safa) for identifying the Belgian tactician.
Broos not only liberated SA football, but also gave a fair chance to the youngsters to play for the national team and showed trust in Helman Mkhalele by making him his right-hand man, who turned out to be his best friend.
This current crop of Bafana Bafana players has rewritten the history of South African football in many ways, and one of them is qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 23 years.
