Bafana Bafana will be out to complete the job when they host South Sudan at the Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday having already sealed their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations ticket.
South Africa qualified with two matches to spare on Thursday and went on to beat Uganda 2-0 to move top of Group K on 11 points, one ahead of the Cranes, and will be out to complete the qualification phase with three more points.
There are questions over whether coach Hugo Broos should rotate his squad and give a chance to some of the players who rarely play now that qualification is sealed but given his desire to finish top of the group, that might not happen.
Head-to-head
This will be the second meeting between South Africa and South Sudan after the two sides met in Juba in September when Bafana Bafana secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
Recent results by the South Sudanese indicate it will not be an easy match for Broos’ men as they came back twice to beat Congo 3-2 last week, handing South Africa and Uganda qualification, while their four defeats in the qualifiers were by one-goal margins.
South Africa needed Thalente Mbatha’s injury time goal to secure victory after the South Sudanese had cancelled out Oswin Apppollis’ double with the scores headed for a 2-2 draw.
Form guide
Bafana Bafana are, however, overwhelming favourites given their impressive home record which has seen them win one and draw another at their backyard while they are unbeaten in all five matches on the road to Morocco 2025 after three wins and two draws.
They started with a 2-2 home draw with Uganda, throwing away a 2-0 lead, followed it up with the 3-2 victory in Juba, then a 5-0 thumping home win against Congo, who forced 1-1 draw in Brazzaville, before last Friday’s 2-0 triumph in Kampala.
South Sudan, meanwhile, recorded their first victory on Friday, the 3-2 win over Congo coming after they had lost 1-0 to the same opponent on matchday one, before the defeat to South Africa was followed up by 1-0 and 2-1 losses to Uganda.
What have they said?
Broos has maintained that while South Africa sealed qualification with two games to spare, their aim remains to top the group and that means a win over South Sudan as Uganda can still dislodge them if they fail to get a victory.
“Okay, we qualified, we could have qualified even if we lost the game but that is not what we wanted. We want to win every game. We fought for it tonight (Friday) and we will fight for it again on Tuesday to get the three points,” Broos said after Friday’s match.
Team news
Broos has no fresh injury concerns heading into the match as all his players came out unscathed from Kampala but fans will be hoping to see Patrick Maswanganyi start, after his maiden goal in Uganda, as well as his Orlando Pirates team-mate Relebohile Mofokeng.
There are also players like Thapelo Morena, Mbatha, Fawaaz Bassadien and Sipho Chaine who will be angling for a start.
Time, where to watch & ticket info
The match will kick off at 18.00 at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town and will be live on SABC. Tickets are available at TicketPro outlets for R60 for adults and R30 for children under the age of 12. Gates open at 15.00.
Predicted lineups
South Africa predicted XI: Williams, Morena, Dortley, Mvala, Modiba, Mokoena, Aubass, Maswanganyi, Mokwana, Appollis, Rayners
South Sudan predicted XI: Jenaro, Taban, Laku, Pal, Wani, M. Malish, J.Malish, Gama, Yuel, Wajo, Juma
Score prediction
South Africa 2-0 South Sudan
