Bafana 1-1 Nigeria: 3 talking points from thrilling draw in Bloemfontein

Bafana Bafana saw their march to the 2026 World Cup slowed following a 1-1 draw with Nigeria at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday.

Hugo Broos’ men scored first but their lead was cancelled out by Calvin Bassey in some controversial circumstances as they missed out on a chance to edge closer to the World Cup.

With Benin winning on Tuesday, Bafana Bafana’s lead has been reduced from five to three points with two qualification matches to go and they will have to win their final games, away to Zimbabwe and at home to Rwanda to seal a direct ticket.

Following the draw in Bloemfontein, what are the talking points from the match?

Bafana’s approach highlights strengths and flaws

The match showcased the strengths of Bafana Banana and some of their weaknesses as they looked good when playing on the counter attack with Mohau Nkota, Oswin Appollis and Lyle Foster stretching the Nigeria defence with their pace.

The game showed how deadly South Africa can be on the break but they will need to work on their finishing and decision making when they get in the final third.

South Africa also displayed their strength in defence, with youngster Mbekezeli Mbokazi impressing, but they looked shaky on set-pieces whose defending they have to improve on as they will face those kinds of tests and much more at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup.

Emotional roller-coaster for players and fans

The match was an emotional roller-coaster for both the team and fans as they thought they would win only for the Super Eagles to equalise.

South Africa went into the match with pressure to win not just because of what was at stake but the need to impress home supporters and the occasion played in their minds.

This was evident by the lack of calmness when the attackers got into good areas to score but failed to strike while there was a cautious approach as they avoided going all out, fearing that they would concede which denied fans a spectacle.

Nigeria’s controversial goal raises eyebrows

What a goal by Calvin Bassey pic.twitter.com/QZkGIs7mzo
— Soldado MD (@elsoldadoMD) September 9, 2025

However, while Nigeria nicked a point, their goal was scored in controversial circumstances as Bassey appeared to have directed the ball into the net using his hand.

From a corner, the Fulham defender rose highest to meet it and while his first contact with the ball was with his head, it crossed the line having rolled off his hand, in a split-second moment that was not seen by the referees.

Replays showed the ball had rolled off Bassey’s hand before it crossed the line but with no VAR to review it, Nigeria were let off the hook with South Africa left complaining.