THE good news for Hugo Broos and his Bafana Bafana team as they seek to bag maximum points from their back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Congo Brazzaville is that their opposition are in chaotic mode.
South Africa’s senior national team are looking to seal qualification for the biennial continental soccer showpiece to be hosted by Morocco late next year and in early 2026 in the two matches to be played in Gqeberha tomorrow (7pm kick-off) and away in the Congo next Tuesday.
And they could well be in luck, if the situation their adversaries’ camp is anything to go by.
By late yesterday, the Republic of the Congo were yet to publicly release their squad for the two matches, and that could well have been because of the recent chaos that had beset them.
Last week, the country’s football association were kicked out of their own headquarters by the police in Brazzaville for reasons that have not been made known.
Congo are third in Group K behind Uganda and South Africa, who are joint on four points, with the Cranes ahead of Bafana by virtue of a better goal difference.
They beat South Sudan 1-0 in their opening home match, but then suffered a 2-0 defeat in Uganda.
Prior to these qualifiers, they had a chaotic time in the World Cup qualifiers in June.
First, they failed to turn up for their clash with Niger, which they were supposed to host, and forfeited the tie 3-0.
Later, they could not, for reasons not given, host Morocco, and opted to play that particular match in the Atlas Lions’ backyard. They were duly thrashed 6-0.
There can be no doubt that opportunity knocks for Broos and Bafana in the upcoming two matches.
Should the South Africans return to that glorious form which saw them bring home bronze medals from the Africa Cup of Nations, then they should have little trouble garnering the maximum six points against the Congolese to seal their qualification.
Bafana Bafana arrived in Gqeberha on Sunday and immediately familiarised themselves with the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Coach Hugo Broos' team host Congo Brazzaville in an AFCON qualifier at the venue on Friday, 11 October 2024.#BafanaPride#Afconqualifers pic.twitter.com/v1HP8p2pBi
Football is, however, fickle at the top, and Rownen Williams and Co will do well not to take anything for granted.
The fact they needed injury-time goals from substitute Thalente Mbatha to get a point at home to Uganda and win away to South Sudan is confirmation enough that the competition is stiff, no matter the opposition’s standing in the continental game.
Congo Brazzaville were actually expected to be Bafana’s main competition in this group, with both sides favoured to finish in the top two and earn their tickets to next year’s Afcon.
The initial two matches proved otherwise, though, and Uganda could actually be home and dry after the next two matchdays as they play against the group’s whipping boys, South Sudan.
Meanwhile, it was announced by CAF yesterday that South Africa are one of more than a handful of countries that have not entered the African Nations Championships (CHAN) to be hosted by three east African countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – in February 2025.