Bafana Bafana still in charge of World Cup fate despite draw with rivals Nigeria

 BAFANA BAFANA (1)

Ekong 26’ (OG)

NIGERIA                (1)

Bassey 45+1

Bafana Bafana are still on the brink of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite being held to a draw by rivals Nigeria at the Toyota Stadium on Tuesday night.

A victory for Bafana would have sealed their qualification fate, especially if Benin had dropped points at home to Lesotho in a later qualifier.

But it wasn’t to be. Bafana remained top of Group C with 17 points and have two games to play against Zimbabwe and Rwanda next month. A win from one of those matches could guarantee Bafana's qualification, especially after FIFA’s earlier communication.

The governing body indicated that they would not unleash a harsher punishment on Bafana for fielding a suspended Teboho Mokoena, after sending a cryptic post about permutations before the game.

Bafana’s flowers have been well-watered here in the City of Roses since they brought their qualifiers to these parts. But for all the success they’ve enjoyed, today they needed the support to blossom.

The support wasn't as expected, but the few bums in the seats made their voices heard. After all, these were the people of Siwelele—the most passionate football supporters in the land.

When the Super Eagles landed here on Sunday, they must have been colorblind, as Siwelele are also clad in green and white, just like them. So, Bafana used that to their advantage, lighting up their way to the World Cup.

Nigeria's lights initially seemed to have gone out, and a coach Eric Chelle looked distraught in the team bus, cutting a lone and disturbed figure when he was the last one to come off. He took that up a notch by momentarily refusing to do one of the TV interviews.

It’s not like his team, full of stars, was united anyway. They came out like "distant siblings," praying in isolation and fully plugged in with headphones. Bafana, meanwhile, were a united bunch—the spirit that drives the team.

Bafana took that spirit onto the pitch as they showed a brave approach, surely easing the pressure on team manager Vincent Tseka, who cut an isolated figure in front of the dugout, almost haunted by his blunder in March.

Broos’ boys ran at the stocky Nigerian men. That inadvertently paid off as Samukelo Kabini beat Ola Aina for pace, resulting in the latter injuring himself and being replaced by Bright Osayi-Samuel.

The heavens opened momentarily, almost wanting to put out Bafana’s baptism of fire. But Broos’ men didn’t heed the call. Instead, they put more foot on the gas as they accelerated into an early lead.

Mokoena released Nkota on the flank, and the winger put in a terrific cross which captain William Troost-Ekong clumsily turned into his own net. That goal sent the stadium into a frenzy as Bafana’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup looked brighter.

Bafana continued to dominate, with Sipho Mbule living up to his "MasterChef" nickname as he "cooked" South Africa’s best football—against their "jollof rice" counterparts. When Mbule tried to "serve," though, his efforts went to waste, as there was no one to finish the play.

Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was hardly threatened for the better part of the night, with his only action being poor clearances. But he eventually picked up the ball from the back of the net before halftime.

Osayi-Samuel took on Kabini with speed on the flank and put in a well-taken cross, which Calvin Bassey intercepted with his head and hand in the air. But the referee missed that it was a handball.

Rapper Cassper Nyovest, who has had a fierce rivalry with Nigerian counterparts such as Davido, brought the fans to their feet at halftime, campaigning for his "Fill Up" Concert, which will be held right here in December.

Nyovest did a service, as the DJ wasn't in touch with the game, blasting irrelevant songs instead of Amapiano to send a stern reminder to the visitors that this battle meant a lot.

The battle got physical in the second half, with the dugouts also needing the intervention of the referee as fists nearly flew following already flying tackles on the pitch. But Bafana had the best clear-cut chances to wrap up the win.

Mbekezeli Mbokazi bullied his markers with skill and physique before hitting a long-range shot after noticing that Stanley Nwabali was off his line. His shot—which could have rivaled Phil Masinga’s 1998 World Cup qualifying goal—was unceremoniously over the crossbar.

Foster also went through on goal, but instead of hitting the target, he shot over the crossbar. Bafana settled for a draw, but, boy, they fought a good fight—one that has still paved their way to qualifying for the World Cup.