Bafana Bafana begin long journey home from Nigeria

Bafana Bafana shrugged off travel challenges to draw 1-1 with Nigeria in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday night.

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It was a tense showdown between the two long-time foes, but coach Hugo Broos’ charges rose to the challenge and took the fight to their West African hosts from the opening whistle.

Bafana Bafana next face Zimbabwe

After one of their longest trips to Nigeria, spanning more than 30 hours, Bafana Bafana will feel they could have won the match.

Bafana Bafana opened the scoring through midfielder Themba Zwane in the 29th minute after a delicious pass from Yaya Sithole.

However, Nigeria equalised through Faruq Dele-Bashiru soon after the restart to put the Super Eagles back in the game.

Bafana Bafana put their bodies on the line to keep Nigeria at bay, and also try to find the goal that would have given them a victory away from home.

Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams pulled off a series of stunning saves to ensure that the South African senior men’s national team will return home with a point from what was their third (of 10) Group C qualifiers.

Bafana Bafana face Zimbabwe in their next World Cup qualifier in a match that is to be played at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, 11 June.

Kick-off is at 18:00.

Tickets for this encounter are still available at the match venue.

The gates will open at 15:00 and tickets are priced at R50 for adults.

Kids, scholars and students will pay R20 (school uniform and student cards are required for over 12-year-olds).

Tickets are also available at TicketPro outlets, Spar, SuperSpar, Putco, Postnet etc.

Change in qualification

The CAF qualification structure for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has changed from previous years.

A record nine teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup – and a 10th is a possibility.

All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations from CAF entered qualification.

Teams were drawn into nine groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches.

However, Eritrea withdrew before matches began, leaving five teams in Group E.

The winner of each of the nine groups will qualify for the World Cup.

In addition, the four best-ranked group runners-up will participate in a playoff to determine which team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

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