Back Bafana Bafana to get a head start in their AFCON journey

Back Bafana Bafana to get a head start in their AFCON journey 

After a bronze finish in this year’s edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa will be confident of booking their place for the showpiece in 2025. Qualifying for the tournament in Morocco is crucial for Bafana Bafana’s continued improvement and the journey starts this Friday night when they host Uganda at the Orlando Stadium where they are 1.44 odds on to beat the visitors. 

Betting Tips

South Africa to win @ 1.44 with Betway

Both teams to score @ 2.55 with Betway 

Winning margin - South Africa to win by one goal @ 3.20 with Betway 

1. The continuity of Hugo Broos
2. FIFA ranking
3. Recent record

Hugo Broos - the difference-maker

When the Africa Cup of Nations concluded earlier this year, the primary goal for the South African Football Association (SAFA) was to ensure that Hugo Broos agreed to remain in charge. It seemed as if he was destined to leave but somehow, the powers that be convinced the Belgian to stay at the southern tip of Africa. 

There’s clearly been improvement under Broos, even though he’s made some questionable decisions in the past and continues to do so. Remarkably, he’s left out Al Ahly striker Percy Tau for this international break, sending South African fans into a frenzy. However, there’s no need to panic as Bafana have made incredible strides recently, giving fans a semblance of South Africa's dominance in the 1990s. 

The coach has enjoyed successful spells with Cameroon, and his aim is to replicate that with South Africa. With just over a year until the tournament in Morocco, Broos has ample time to find the perfect combination to potentially lift the trophy the next time around. Although he is without captain and first-choice goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams for the opening fixture against Uganda, he has enough talent to call upon between the sticks. The visitors may see this replacement as an opportunity to pierce the home defence, making a case for both teams to find the net at 2.55 odds. 

FIFA Rankings

Bafana Bafana were drawn in Group K of the qualifiers where the top two progress to the final tournament. Alongside Uganda, South Africa will face up against South Sudan and Congo. It’s worth noting that Broos’ men are the highest-ranked in the group. 

Currently, South Africa are 10th in Africa and 57th in the world while their three opponents find themselves outside of the top 20 on the continent. On paper, qualifying from this group shouldn’t be a difficult task for Bafana, starting with a victory at home this Friday night. 

Positive record

Despite losing the AFCON semi-final to Nigeria, South Africa gave an excellent account of themselves. They have yet to suffer a defeat within 90 minutes in their last 13 fixtures. The last time Bafana were beaten was in their opening clash of this year’s AFCON when Mali walked away with a 2-0 victory. 

It might be concerning that eight of their last 10 matches ended in a draw after 90 minutes but playing at home against Uganda offers hope that they can get over the line here on Friday. South Africa have four head-to-heads against the Cranes and they can boast the fact that they’ve never lost to this opposition. 

Three victories from four meetings is a positive return and suggests that South Africa can kick off their AFCON qualifiers with three points. All three of the host’s victories have come by a single-goal margin, not a far-fetched possibility on Friday night.