- Bafana beat Liberia away in a crucial Afcon qualifier
- The win has helped SA move up on the Fifa rankings
- It was a Bafana team dominated by Sundowns players
WHAT HAPPENED? South Africa qualified for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals following a 2-2 draw with Liberia at home and a 2-1 win over the Lone Stars 2-1 in Monrovia.
The results helped Bafana move up on the Fifa rankings from number 67 to 66. Although the movement is minor, it was a show of improvement by Hugo Broos side.
They are, however, still far from reaching position 16 which is the highest-ever ranking South Africa have attained.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Bafana squad that did business in the March internationals was dominated by Mamelodi Sundowns who contributed nine players, including Ricardo Goss who is on loan at SuperSport United.
Orlando Pirates was the second-represented Premier Soccer League team in the national team set up with five players, including Zakhele Lepasa who is on loan at SuperSport United.
Lepasa featured for the entire 90 minutes in the Monrovia fixture, grabbing Bafana’s opening goal which set them on a victory path.
It was a match Sunowns goalkeeper Ronwen Willams fumbled into his own net a shot by Lberia captain William Jebor but the South Africa skipper picked himself up to keep Bafana in the game.
He was instrumental in thwarting dangerous raids by the Liberians as Bafana went on to secure Afcon qualification.
WHAT NEXT FOR BAFANA? Broos and his men will be back in action in June when they host Morocco in their final Group K match.
With both teams having already qualified for Afcon, it will be a dead rubber.
But a positive result for Bafana will help them climb higher on the Fifa rankings.
