Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki faces what could be a pivotal game in his career when he leads his team into battle against Sudan at the Al-Hilal Stadium in Omdurman on Sunday evening in a crunch Group C Afcon qualifier.
Win or draw the match and Ntseki can look forward to the next chapter of his Bafana coaching career – leading the team against the continent's and in some cases the world's best, in the Afcon finals in Cameroon early next year.
Lose the game and Bafana Bafana will be eliminated and then questions will surely arise as to whether Ntseki is the best man for the job.
With respect to the coach, he took on the job with a not especially impressive CV, certainly when compared to some of the other candidates or previous national team coaches.
There has remained a lingering feeling among fans that Safa saw Ntseki as the ‘cheap’ and easy option, having risen out of the football association ranks after he previously coached various national youth teams.
Next matches
Of course, fans can be emotional and demanding, and it would be unfair to judge Ntseki solely on his CV and not on how he gels as the senior national team coach, and ultimately, results.
But with his tenure having come at a time when world football has been set back by the Covid-19 pandemic, he hasn't had too much of a chance to prove, or perhaps disprove himself and has been in charge of only eight matches, four of which have been won, together with two defeats and two draws.
Now suddenly, after more than four months since the back-to-back wins over Sao Tome e Principe, Ntseki finds himself very much in the hot seat this week needing to get positive results against Ghana and Sudan in order to qualify.
There was a feeling in the 1-1 draw with Ghana on Thursday that the 51-year-old coach should have been more attack-minded against an under-strength Black Stars side.
Based on how the group stood though, a point was a good result and sets up South Africa with a decent chance of qualification.
Which is exactly why he can’t afford to blow it now at the last hurdle. The backlash would be immense if South Africa’s potential place in the Afcon next year is taken by what can only be described as one of the minnows of African football – Sudan are currently ranked 127th and South Africa are 71st.
And while the home game at the Orlando Stadium against the Falcons of Jediane was won only 1-0 by Bafana, it was a match in which the hosts missed a bunch of chances to add more goals to the scoreline.
But with that said, and what may be giving Ntseki a few sleepless nights, is the fact that Sudan managed a 1-0 home win against Ghana in the current qualifiers.
It’s surely safe to say this is the biggest match of the coach's career.