All is not lost! Why Hugo Broos and his Bafana Bafana MUST stay positive in bid to qualify for 2026 FIFA World Cup despite setbacks

South Africa will head into their final match against Rwanda needing not only a victory, but also a favourable result elsewhere.

Broos’ side is at the mercy of their big rivals Nigeria, who host group leaders Benin on Tuesday at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Nigeria.

But a favour from the West African giants would be useless if Bafana were to fail to do their part and beat Rwanda. The pressure is immense.  

Bafana can win their match against Rwanda by 20 goals, but they still would not qualify if Nigeria does not do them the favour of beating Benin, convincingly so.

The Super Eagles had a poor start to their campaign, and at some point, looked dead and buried, but they’ve managed to claw their way back into contention.

And heading into this final round of matches, this will be a good thing for South Africa as Eric Chelle’s men will be determined to thump Benin and remain alive.

Their passage, though, relies on South Africa losing to Rwanda, and it is that glimmer of hope that will keep them motivated on Tuesday.  

Gernot Rohr’s Benin are the one team standing in Bafana’s way, having benefited the most from the three-point deduction which catapulted them to the summit of the table.

Broos will be keeping one eye on their match with Nigeria, as a win there could end South Africa’s chances of qualifying, regardless of their result against Rwanda. 

A draw for Benin would keep the door slightly open as they would be level on points with Bafana if they beat Rwanda, but Broos’ side would need to win by multiple goals to ensure goal difference is in their favour.

The fact that Benin got the better of the Super Eagles in the reverse fixture, beating them 2-1, means they have demonstrated that they are capable, and Bafana, as well as Nigeria, will hope things are different this time around.

The situation in Group C is very tricky. Although Benin have the upper hand, three teams can still top the group and qualify for the World Cup.  

Bafana and Nigeria remain alive, but they need huge favours from each other to seal their spot. There’s no doubt, it will be an action-packed final day.

As mentioned before, Benin needs a win, and they are through. South Africa needs to beat Rwanda and hope Nigeria beats Benin.

In case of a draw between Benin and Nigeria, Bafana need to win by a big margin to bridge the goal difference between themselves and Benin.

For Nigeria, the situation is much more complicated. Their slim hopes need for Chelle’s charges to beat Benin by three goals or more and hope Bafana lose to Rwanda.

Bafana created several chances and dominated large spells against Zimbabwe, but their wastefulness in front of goal proved costly in the end.

Broos and his side can ill afford another day like that at the office on Tuesday, as they have everything on the line. Failure to score against Amavubi will surely send them tumbling out of contention.

Bafana stars like Lyle Foster, Sipho Mbule, Mohau Nkota, and Tshepang Moremi were guilty of squandering some scoring opportunities, and they will need to improve.       

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