Gilbert Mugisha celebrates after scoring Rwanda's second goal against Bafana in Butare on Tuesday. Picture: Backpagepix
Bafana Bafana have plenty of time to recover on the road to the 2026 Fifa World Cup finals after their surprise group C defeat to Rwanda on the part-swamp, part-football pitch at the Stade Huye in Butare on Tuesday.
There can be a strong sense of doom around Bafana Bafana at the first sign of trouble these days, which is entirely justified, given that the men’s senior national football team have achieved very little on the continent – let alone across the globe – over the past two decades.
Under coach Hugo Broos, however, there have been some signs of progress.
Bafana will play in next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals and, heading into the Rwanda game, Broos had built a confident side that had not lost a match in 17 months.
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Bafana won their opening group C qualifier at home to Benin and, while Rwanda are not a good side on paper, they clearly aren’t bad in a puddle.
South Africa should have been better prepared for the waterlogged field in Butare.
But, hopefully, they won’t play on another surface like this one… and their group remains wide open, especially after Nigeria drew their opening two qualifiers.
For now, then, let’s remain positive.
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