Bafana come up trumps in tense World Cup qualifier

IN THE heartbeat of Mpumalanga, Nel-spruit, the sun shone brightly on Hugo Broos and his Bafana Bafana boys as they successfully knocked on God’s window to qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

- MIHLALI BALEKA

BAFANA Bafana midfielder Thalente Mbatha opened the scoring in their Fifa World Cup qualifying clash against Rwanda.

(AFP)

Bafana beat Rwanda 3-0 to reach the promised land - automatically qualifying for the first time since 2002 - after finishing top of Group C, thanks to goals from Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa.

The victory was also made possible by an unexpected source - Nigeria, who beat Benin 4-0 on home soil, dethroning them from the No 1 spot in Group C.

With this region of the country also boasting the Big Five, Broos and Bafana deserved to feast on the buffalo for a job well done. The Belgian has also seen his football career come full circle, as he'll now coach at the global showpiece - 40 years after competing in the tournament himself. But Bafana didn't only deserve a feast fit for kings - they played like the rest of the Big Five as well: the lion, the leopard, the rhino and the elephant. And that’s why they'll head into Afcon later this year as one of the favourites.