For the first time in 16 years, Bafana Bafana has qualified for an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament back-to-back through the qualifier route.
South Africa’s national football team played consecutive Afcons in 2013 and 2015, but they had qualified as hosts in 2013.
By the time Bafana ran out to clip the wings of Uganda’s hitherto unbeaten Cranes in the Ugandan capital Kampala last Friday, the team had already secured its Afcon 2025 ticket. This was due to the outcome of the previous day’s (Thursday) Group K clash at the Juba Stadium, where hosts South Sudan caused a monumental upset to defeat former Afcon champions Brazzaville Congo 3-2.
This outcome last Thursday left Uganda (12 points) and South Africa (eight points) in unassailable positions at the top of the Group K log. As a result, Uganda and South Africa secured the 2025 Afcon qualification with two rounds remaining ahead of Friday’s kick-off. South Sudan and Congo now count among the Afcon qualification also-rans.
It is also the first time, Bafana qualified for a major tournament with two games to spare since the country’s readmission to international football in 1992.
This feat was a great reward for Bafana, who faced extreme challenges at various times. Often, the treatment dished out by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) has been harsh and coach Hugo Broos became used to starting national team training camps with players who have run into the ground.
The worst case was last January when the PSL continued the domestic fixtures until the final day of December. A few days later the players reported for the Afcon camp and five key players sat out with injuries. They could not play in the warm-up match before they departed for Ivory Coast.
The team lost 2-0 to Mali in their opening fixture of the 2023 Afcon finals in January but since then coach Hugo Broos has brought a measure of steel to the team. They went on to win the Afcon bronze medal for the first time in 24 years.
Regularly, they have faced adversity head-on and remain unbowed. Even Broos was surprised with his team’s solid performance after they faced travelling nightmares in Nigeria in June when they were forced to arrive at their destination on match day.
Bafana’s steely resolve allowed them to hold the mighty Super Eagles, the three-time Afcon champs, to a draw in their backyard. This momentum has taken the team through a golden patch, highlighted by a clinical 5-0 win over the 1972 Afcon champs Congo Brazzaville at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha last month.
This feat should be a Bafana record since it matched the 5-0 scoreline against Guatemala in a 2010 World Cup warm-up in Polokwane. However, since then, the match officials have been accused of match-fixing. The Guatemala result should be expunged from the records.
Since losing to Mali in January, Bafana has gone 18 games (including three Cosafa matches) without defeat. Previously between 2015 and 2017, Bafana enjoyed an 18-game undefeated streak.
On Tuesday, Bafana can eclipse that mark by defeating South Sudan in Cape Town in their final Group K match. Completing their group assignments without defeat will see Bafana roaring a championship challenge when the next Afcon kicks off in Morocco.