Nigeria vs Bafana Bafana – our predictions

Phakaaathi’s Jonty Mark and Khaya Ndubane argue the toss here for who will win, and why.

Why Nigeria will win (Jonty Mark)

There has been plenty of the usual fanfare around Bafana Bafana this week, particularly, I think, as this is Stuart Baxter’s first game since his return to the Bafana fold as head coach. There is always hype around a coach’s first game, and there is, usually, an immediate hit of confidence in a squad determined to show what they can do to their new head of staff. This, however, will not be enough to see Bafana leave Nigeria with anything other than zero points after Saturday’s Afcon qualifier. The reason for this does not require Einstein-like analysis, it is quite simple – Nigeria are the better side. On top of that, they have the wood over South Africa, who have never beaten them in a competitive fixture. Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi and Ahmed Musa, they all play their trade in the English Premier League, one of the top leagues in the world, and are likely to give Bafana’s defenders a torrid time. Wilfried Ndidi emerged as one of the best central midfielders in England for Leicester in 2017 and alongside Ogenyi Onazi, will probably dominate the midfield areas, even with Andile Jali and Bongani Zungu in the Bafana set up. Nigeria do look their weakest at the back, but I don’t think Bafana have the strikers to capitalise. Yes, Shakes Mashaba’s side did get a 2-2 draw in Uyo in November 2014, but that was against an out of form Super Eagles. Gernot Rohr’s side have win in Zambia and at home to Algeria in their first two 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, and I really can’t see Bafana posing a problem for this talented young side.

Score prediction: Nigeria 3 South Africa 0

Why Bafana will win (Khaya Ndubane)

Reports emerging out of the Bafana Bafana camp are that of a united and passionate team, ready to make the country proud in Nigeria. It’s not surprising though, as it is usually the norm when a new coach comes in. History will show that a new Bafana coach is always likely to win his first game and that’s based on stats. Nigeria may look the better side on paper, but having big name players doesn’t always translate to dominance over teams with little-known players. Bafana showed their mettle when they played to a 2-2 draw against the current African champions Cameroon away in Limbe in the 2017 Afcon qualifiers in March last year. Cameroon went on to win the Afcon in Gabon this year. Bafana came close to beating Nigeria in 2014, but they blew a two-nil lead before drawing 2-2 with the Super Eagles. In Stuart Baxter, Bafana have an astute coach who knows how to defend leads. I can bet that if he was in charge of Bafana in Uyo in 2014, Bafana would have walked away with a victory in that match. I say this with no disrespect to the previous coach Shakes Mashaba, of course. Speaking about Baxter, he remains the only Bafana coach to taste victory against Nigeria when he led SA to a 2-1 win in a friendly in 2004 and I bet he can’t wait to do it again on Saturday. Baxter has also done his homework against Nigeria, having sent a spy to check on them when they played friendlies to prepare for this clash. Rohr on the other side, has to rely on information based on previous matches under Mashaba, which could work in Bafana’s favour.

Score prediction: Nigeria 0 South Africa 1