Brazzaville jolt must spark Bafana Bafana into action in Afcon qualifiers

COMMENT BY MATSHELANE MAMABOLO

THIS is not how it was supposed to be. Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign was meant to be sewn up by now.

But such is the fickle nature of sport at the top that even the best laid plans can sometimes go awry. And they have done so in a big way for Hugo Broos and his team, haven’t they?

Though yet to lose after four matches, the national team have dropped four points that have left them under some pressure going into the final two games of the qualifiers next month.

Bafana will travel to Kampala for a tricky clash against a Uganda side that almost beat them in the opening match at Orlando Stadium in September knowing that nothing can be taken for granted.

They will complete their campaign with a home tie against already eliminated South Sudan, with both matches to be played during the Fifa week of November 11 to 19.

Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Congo Brazzaville has left the bronze medallists from the previous Afcon needing at least three points from a possible six to make it to next year’s tournament.

On the face of it, they should not struggle, and many will bet on Ronwen Williams and Co beating South Sudan with ease.

You can bet, however, that Broos would not want to go into that final match still chasing the ticket to Morocco.

Damn, the silver-haired Belgian had banked on qualification being attained after Tuesday’s match.

We all believed it would be after Bafana’s 5-0 walloping of the Red Devils last Friday.

But an injury to the talismanic Themba Zwane contrived to ruin all that as the Congolese stole a point that sees them still n the hunt for qualification.

And now, all three countries can still make it to the biennial continental showpiece.

⏪ 🅸🅲🆈🅼🅸 ⏪

Bafana Bafana and Congo played to a 1⃣➖1⃣ in their #AFCONQ2025 Group K encounter in Brazzaville!#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/rPWsgSjV4F

— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) October 16, 2024

Uganda’s Cranes lead Group K on 10 points, while South Africa are in second place with eight and Congo are third with four.

Both Uganda and Bafana would be hoping that South Sudan do them a favour by beating the Congolese, a result that will knock the Red Devils out.

An implosion of epic proportions by Bafana in which they lose their remaining two matches, or they lose to Uganda and drop points against South Sudan while Congo win both their remaining matches, could put paid to the qualification goal.

It is a possibility that would have been unthinkable just six days ago after last Friday’s scintillating display which brought about the record-equalling 5-0 win over the Red Devils in Gqeberha.

But there is no therefore in this beautiful game of billions, and perhaps the failure to win on Tuesday was the wake-up call that Bafana needed, lest they started becoming cocky.

Qualification with two matches still to go could easily have seen the team considering themselves as some kind of Invincibles and brought about some complacency.

But now, with that jolt back to reality in Brazzaville, there’s every reason to expect Bafana to take nothing for granted in their next matches.

How they will fare without the influence of Zwane, who is likely to be out for a long time following the Achilles tendon injury he suffered on Tuesday remains to be seen.

This, though, is a national team, and the onus is on Broos to find an able replacement and prepare the team in such a way that they will get the necessary results against both Uganda and South Sudan next month.

Lest the Belgian is not aware, the Afcon final will be played just a 16 days short of the 30-year anniversary of Bafana’s only victory at the continental showpiece.

The freedom of South Africa beckons should you bring back the glory days, Mr Broos.

First, though, make sure Bafana avoid slipping on the potential banana skin that is the remaining two matches.

Meanwhile, Broos said on the Safa website afterwards that Zwane’s departure just before halftime due to an Achilles tendon injury affected the team’s performance dramatically.

“Themba Zwane is a very important player for us. It was not a good thing for us that Themba had to go out with an injury,” Broos said.

“It is a big injury, it is an Achilles tendon injury. I’m afraid he will be out for months.

Broos reflects on Zwane's injury#BafanaPride#AfconQualifier@10bet_ZA @CastleLagerSA @flysaa @SouthernSunGrp @SAFA_nethttps://t.co/unyByXSyi1

— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) October 16, 2024

“So, again, when you lose such an important player, it’s difficult, certainly in a game where you dominated. It’s always difficult to lose such a player because Themba is someone who can keep the ball, who can give the last pass.

“So, he was not there and maybe that was also a reason why we didn’t play so well.

“Congo surprised us at home and we could not find a way to score here.”