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Thembinkosi Lorch celebrates his goal for Bafana Bafana as they knock out hosts Egypt at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo. Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix.

Bafana Bafana drawn alongside Black Stars in Afcon 2021 qualifiers

With the 2019 tournament barely over, Bafana Bafana found out who they will be facing in the Afcon 2021 qualifiers.

thembinkosi lorch bafana bafana orlando pirates

Thembinkosi Lorch celebrates his goal for Bafana Bafana as they knock out hosts Egypt at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo. Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix.

Bafana Bafana might just have to get past the Black Stars of Ghana if they are to make a second consecutive appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

With the 2019 edition of the continental showpiece just one game away from completion, the draw for the 2021 event, to be held in Cameroon, took place on Thursday night.

South Africa were drawn in Group C, alongside Ghana, Sudan and one of Mauritius or Sao Tome e Principe.

The West African giants have been somewhat of a hoodoo team for Bafana, beating them 2-1 in their last competitive meeting – a group fixture in the 2015 Afcon tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

China’s last competitive defeat to South Africa came all the way back in 2000, when Siyabonga Nomvethe’s goal three minutes from the break proved to be the difference between the two sides as Trott Moloto’s men advanced to the Afcon semifinals.

Since then, the two nations have engaged in three encounters, excluding friendlies, which have all gone the way of the Black Stars, with Bafana scoring just once in that period.

Both teams made it through to the second round of the ongoing Afcon competition, with Ghana the first to exit after being dumped out by eventual semifinalists Tunisia in the last 16, while South Africa made it to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Nigeria.

The other teams in the group are relative minnows, who did not participate in the 2019 edition.

Bafana have had 11 clashes against Mauritius, winning seven and losing just once, while they are yet to square off against either Sudan or Sao Tome.

Mauritius and Sao Tome will battle it out in a preliminary round for the final Group C spot.

Afcon 2021 qualifying groups

Group A: Mali, Guinea, Namibia, Liberia/Chad

Group B: Burkina Faso, Uganda, Malawi, South Sudan/Seychelles

Group C: Ghana, South Africa, Sudan, Mauritius/Sao Tome e Principe

Group D: DR Congo, Gabon, Angola, Djibouti/The Gambia

Group E: Morocco, Mauritania, Central African Republic, Burundi

Group F: Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Mozambique, Rwanda

Group G: Egypt, Kenya, Togo, Comoros Islands

Group H: Algeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana

Group I: Senegal, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, eSwatini

Group J: Tunisia, Libya, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea

Group K: Ivory Coast, Niger, Madagascar, Ethiopia

Group L: Nigeria, Benin, Sierra Leone, Lesotho