Bafana go down to Cape Verde twice in four days

Any chance Bafana Bafana had of qualifying for the 2018 world cup is now far less than a realistic one. This after a 1-2 defeat to Cape Verde at the Moses Mabhida stadium on Tuesday.

Substitute Andile Jali scored a late goal as the home side were desperately trying to keep the dream alive. But it was only to be a temporary glimmer of home as they had left it until too late.

Coach Stuart Baxter rang the changes as he opted for three men up front, with Tokelo Rantie and Keagan Dolly starting on either side of Bradley Grobler.

There was a change in the goalkeeping department as Wayne Sandilands came in for Ronwen Williams, who had a nervy night in Praia on Friday. While the suspended Eric Mathoho was replaced by Morgan Gould, who was making his appearance for Bafana in over four years.

South Africa started the brighter of the two sides, enjoying most of the possession earlier on but were hampered by questionable decision-making.

The men from the former Portuguese colony gained confidence as the half wore on. This paid off in the opening minutes of the second half when Gary Rodriguez opened the scoring from 30 yards via a free kick in the 51st minute.

Ten minutes later, Ryan Mendes could have made it two when he pounced on a loose ball, but with the goal at his mercy he shot over the bar.

But soon after, Rodriguez killed the game off with another long-range strike, prompting a
considerable chunk of the crowd to leave the stadium.

With just a minute left in regulation time Jali fired home, setting up a frantic finish. But the home side would make no further inroads, as it remained 2-1.

This leaves South Africa with it all to do in their remaining two fixtures.

Can South Africa still qualify for the 2018 Soccer World Cup?

Can? Yes. Will they? Probably not. How can they do it? By hoping every possible result goes their way – including winning their remaining fixtures.