South Africa and Niger played to a 0-0 stalemate. While not the result Bafana were hoping for, the point keeps them in the hunt. The silver lining was in the other Group C encounter, where defending champions Algeria and Guinea also cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw.

That result means South Africa’s chances of reaching the knockout stage remain alive. However, in their final group game, they will need nothing less than victory against co-hosts Uganda. Bafana is currently third on the log, and with Algeria facing Niger in their last fixture, defeat against Uganda will almost certainly spell elimination.

Although the clash finished goalless, it was packed with drama. South Africa had two VAR penalty reviews go against them, while Moroccan referee Bouchra Karboubi dished out four yellow cards to Ntseki’s men – decisions that would not have sat well with the Bafana coach.

Botshabelo-born coach Molefi Ntseki admitted his side faced an uphill battle in their last outing, but praised his players for their effort.

“Firstly, as a team, we understand what tournament football is all about.” 

Malibongwe Khoza. Photo: X

“In tournaments, you win some, you lose some, you draw some. At the moment, we’ve drawn two matches and won one, so now everything comes down to our last group game. We’re looking forward to it.

“In terms of performance, I can’t fault the players. In terms of our approach, we did our best. But we were up against a team with nothing to lose, and that made them dangerous. Even at the final whistle, they were the ones celebrating a draw, because for them, that was a result against South Africa.”

Bafana’s do-or-die showdown against Uganda kicks off at 19:00 on Monday at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg