Bafana in tight spot for quarterfinals
Bafana are in a tight spot to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Chan tournament after their draw against Mali.
The South African senior national team, Bafana Bafana, have put themselves in a tight spot to qualify for the quarterfinals of the African Nations Championship (Chan) after playing to a 1-1 draw against Mali in their second game in the championship in Cape Town on Wednesday.
This comes after Bafana’s draw against Mali opened the chances for other teams in the group to qualify for the quarterfinals after Nigeria managed to win their first match in the tournament against the Mambas of Mozambique.
The draw lifted both Bafana and Mali to four points from their two fixtures and they are currently topping the group.
Bafana’s striker, Bernard Parker, put the host nation ahead through a 25th-minute penalty, his second in as many games with the national team, but Mali fought back and grabbed an equaliser 10 minutes after the interval courtesy of Ibourahima Sidibe’s thunderous effort.
However, in the match that followed Bafana’s, Nigeria claimed their first points of the campaign, beating Mozambique 4-2. Nigeria climbed to third in the group, and still have a chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals, but will have to overcome Bafana in the last game of the group on Sunday.
It remains to be seen if the Gordon Igesund-coached team will manage to beat Nigeria in their next encounter to qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament.
siphod@rekord.co.za
