South Africa's headcoach Hugo Broos (C) attends a training session at the Lycee Classique stadium in Abidjan on February 9, 2024, on the eve of the 2024 African Cup of Nations (CAN) football match between South Africa and DR Congo for third place While the first two teams qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, finishing at the summit of the group will guarantee a top seeding for the tournament at the end of 2025 in Morocco. Picture: Sia Kambou/AFP
Though Bafana Bafana’s final Africa Cup of Nations Group K qualifier against South Sudan in Cape Town may be seen as a dead rubber, there is a significant reward on the line if the hosts are able to achieve yet another win.
Both Uganda and South Africa qualified for next year’s Afcon ahead of their penultimate fixture against each other, courtesy of bottom-placed South Sudan’s 3-2 win over Congo on Thursday.
With qualification assured with two games to spare, Bafana beat hosts Uganda 2-0 on Friday.
The win saw Bafana overtake Uganda in top spot of the group with 11 points, while Uganda have 10.
While the first two teams qualify for Afcon, finishing at the summit of the group will guarantee a top seeding for the tournament at the end of 2025 in Morocco.
That would mean Bafana would be able to avoid the other top seeds during the group stage of the competition, which could be key if they are to build on their third place finish in the 2023 edition.
Broos said it would be no small feat if his side did indeed finish top of their group.
“Let's say we win on Tuesday, we will have 14 points and that’s a lot. There were some games we should have won, especially against Uganda at home,” said Broos.
“It was important for us to win here in Uganda and go top in the group. Nobody can say we are lucky, like they said after the defeat of Congo by South Sudan during the week. We proved that we don’t need luck and we can win our own games when it matters the most.
“We will have 14 points if we win on Tuesday and we will be deserving of qualification for Afcon.”
Related Topics: