Bafana Bafana have not found West Africa a happy hunting ground in the past‚ but can point to some recent success in the region as they prepare to travel to Uyo to face Nigeria in a African Nations Cup qualifier on Saturday.
The 4-0 thumping of minnows Gambia in Banjul last year brought some relief to what has otherwise been a dismal record in that part of the continent.
And Bafana followed that up with an excellent battling 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso in their first World Cup qualifier a few months later.
But it has been a region that has brought mostly misery for the national side‚ with some of the heaviest and most embarrassing defeats in their history coming there.
Not including Nations Cup finals on neutral territory‚ they have met teams from West Africa in their own country on 17 previous occasions and won only three times‚ suffering eight defeats in the process.
The tone for their dismal run was set on their very first trip‚ an eye-opening visit to Lagos to play Nigeria in a Nations Cup qualifier in October 1992.
Having only returned to the international stage months before‚ Bafana were no match for the Super Eagles and lost 4-0‚ though the scoreline could have been worse had the home side taken their chances.
Bafana have since suffered defeats to minnows Sierra Leone (2008)‚ Niger (2011) and Mauritania (2015).
Other losses have come in Nigeria (twice more)‚ Mali‚ Ghana and Burkina Faso.
They can point to their two visits to Abidjan with some pride having secured a pair of draws against Ivory Coast‚ though both matches were played before The Elephants’ so-called Golden Generation that included Didier Drogba emerged.
Bafana's first victory in West Africa should still rank among their best as they beat Ghana in Kumasi in the quarterfinals of the 2000 Nations Cup finals thanks to a lone goal from Siyabonga Nomvethe‚ before they lost to Nigeria in the semifinals in Lagos as the two countries co-hosted that event.
They also secured a 2-1 victory in Cape Verde in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers‚ a game in which Benni McCarthy and Delron Buckley got on the scoresheet‚ with their Gambia success bringing a third win.
Bafana should get used to travelling to the region this year.
After their Nigerian trip they will play away in Cape Verde in a World Cup qualifier in August‚ before returning to meet Senegal in Dakar in November.
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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