On Friday, Bafana beat Lesotho 3-0 at the Toyota Stadium to strengthen their grip on top spot in Group C, while in Uyo, the Super Eagles edged Rwanda 1-0 on Saturday.

Goals from Mohau Nkota, Lyle Foster, and Oswin Appollis made life difficult for Likuena, who came out fighting in Bloemfontein, but South Africa managed to weather the storm and shift gears in the second half.

South Africa’s fifth win in seven outings in Group C moved them up to 16 points, five clear of second-placed Benin, who are on eleven points.

The Super Eagles’ win against Rwanda was only their second of the qualifiers, but it moved them up to third on ten points. They will be looking to prove a point in Bloemfontein.

Burnley striker Lyle Foster, who scored South Africa’s second goal, said there will be a lot more pressure on teams like Nigeria and Benin.

“I don’t necessarily think there’s pressure on us. I think at the moment we are where we are in the group, and that’s a positive.  

“I think the pressure is on the teams trying to catch us, but that doesn’t mean we should take our foot off the gas. We need to keep the same mentality, stay steady, play game by game, remain humble, and take each game as it comes.

“We’ve had a good start, but the most important thing is to push forward and make sure we seal it.”

Lyle Foster. Photo: Morgan Piek

Coach Hugo Broos said despite the Super Eagles being six points behind them in the qualifiers, they remain a rock-solid team, and only their best performance will be enough come Tuesday.

“You know that Nigeria is a very good team and a much stronger side than Lesotho. So we will have to take different measures and apply other tactical strategies than we did in today’s game. 

“Over the next few days, we’ll work on finding the right team to beat Nigeria on Tuesday.”

The clash at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 18:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg