Stakes are huge as Bafana go toe-to-toe with Nigeria for place at World Cup

The stakes are huge for the two teams as Bafana Bafana go toe-to-toe with Nigeria in their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein (6pm) on Tuesday.

A win would leave South Africa with 19 points from eight matches at the top of Group C and in a commanding position to qualify for the global showpiece to be co-hosted in the US, Mexico and Canada next year.

Bafana can officially and mathematically qualify for a first World Cup other than as hosts since 2002 in Korea and Japan if they beat the Super Eagles and Benin lose to Lesotho in the late kickoff in Abidjan. 

However, the qualification would come with a sizeable clarification, given South Africa remain likely to be docked three points by Fifa for fielding suspended Teboho Mokoena in a 2-0 win against Lesotho in Polokwane in March.

Bafana (16 points from seven games) are looking to win their fifth qualifying match in a row after going to their fourth with their 3-0 victory against Lesotho at Free State Stadium on Friday.

The last chance at qualification for coach Éric Chelle's Nigeria (10 points), as they look to continue to resurrect their campaign from a dismal start after beating Rwanda 1-0 in Uyo on Saturday to go to two wins from three unbeaten matches, rests with reeling in Bafana to within three points.

South Africa captain Ronwen Williams said the focus for last year's Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallists is “on the game and to get the job done because we don’t want favours from anyone”. 

“We want to do things our way. We learnt a hard lesson in the past where our destiny was in the hands of other teams and things didn’t go our way. We have grown as a team, we want to do it our way and get the job done.” 

As Bafana coach Hugo Broos indicated, if Bafana don’t get maximum points against Nigeria it would not be the end of the world with matches against Rwanda and Zimbabwe in South Africa next month. A draw would leave South Africa six points clear of the Super Eagles and three ahead of Benin, even if they beat Lesotho.

“There are nine points to play for, if it doesn't happen on Tuesday, there are the next matches. We shouldn’t put too much pressure on ourselves to get it done but it will mean a lot if we seal it as soon as possible,” the Belgian said.

“We should treat it like any other game, play like we have been playing and have the same mentality. We have played Nigeria twice in the past two years and we are familiar with them. 

“There is nothing to fear, but there is a lot of extra motivation because we can qualify on Tuesday. We have to keep on doing what we have been doing and get the job done.” 

Bafana have only beaten the Super Eagles once in official competition — 2-0 in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier in Uyo under Stuart Baxter in June 2017. Their overall record against Nigeria reads: P16 W2 D6 L8.

South Africa have had some competitive outings against the Super Eagles since the 2017 away win. Bafana lost 2-1 against the Super Eagles in the 2019 Afcon quarterfinal in Egypt, lost on penalties in last year's semifinal in Ivory Coast after a 1-1 score at normal time and drew 1-1 in Nigeria in the first round game of the World Cup qualifiers in June last year.

Williams said the South Africans want to rectify failing to beat Nigeria in their last two outings. 

“That is the history they have over us. We haven’t beaten them in a long time. Yes, we have had positive results against them by going away to Nigeria last year and getting a draw. That shows we are growing as a team. We are getting closer and closer to beating them. 

“We saw it at Afcon in the Ivory Coast and when we visited them in Nigeria. Hopefully tomorrow [Tuesday] we can go a step further and change the narrative. If you look at head-to-head, they have the bragging rights, but hopefully tomorrow we can show there is a new leaf for Bafana.” 

Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong said the pressure is on South Africa. 

“There are no hearts that have been broken. We have the same opportunity. In our last World Cup campaign, we won our group convincingly but you had the play-off system and we did not go to Qatar on away goals. 

“We are focused on the opportunity ahead. The pressure is on South Africa. They know we are here with a lot to gain.”