South Africa have two matches remaining to secure enough points for automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup Finals, the first of which is Friday's clash with Zimbabwe in Durban
Group C: As It Stands
All teams have played 8 matches and have 2 remaining. Group winner qualifies automatically, runners up will be involved in the play offs.
Benin 14 points
South Africa 14 points
Nigeria 11 points
Rwanda 11 points
Lesotho 9 points
Zimbabwe 4 points
Key Remaining Matches:
Friday 10th October
Lesotho v Nigeria
Rwanada v Benin
Zimbabwe v South Africa
Tuesday 14th October
South Africa v Rwanda
Nigeria v Benin
South Africa:
Bafana's last 2 qualifiers were both staged in Bloemfontein a month ago. They were comfortable 3-0 winners against Lesotho in the first of those matches and then played out a creditable 1-1 draw with Nigeria. At the time that put Bafana in firm control of the group and with top spot in touching distance but they were subsequently docked 3 points for fielding an ineligable player in an earlier qualifier against Lesotho in March which Bafana had “won” 2-0.
The punishment led to aa rejig in the standings following the awarding the of a 3-0 win to Lesotho and cost South Africa top spot but they are still in a strong position with this game now a “home fixture” to be followed by Tuesday's clash with Rwanda in Nelspruit.
The first qualifier against Zim was staged back in June 2024 and both sides scored in the opening 2 minutes of the match and it stayed that way until Thapelo Morena settled the argument with goals on 55 and 76 minutes to give Bafana a 3-1 win.
Zimbabwe:
Zim have yet to win a qualifier and look likely to finish at the bottom of Group C but some of their results suggest they can be competitive. A record of 4 draws and 4 defeats wouldn't inspire confidence but those draws came against Bafana's rivals for top spot; 2 clashes with the Super Eagles (both 1-1), a 0-0 draw in Rwanda and a 2-2 draw with Benin.
There are some familiar names in the Zim squad:
Goalkeepers: Washington Arubi, Elvis Chipezeze, Martin Mapisa
Defenders: Brandon Galloway, Munashe Garananga, Teenage Hadebe, Emmanuel Jalai , Divine Lunga, Godknows Murwira, Gerald Takwara, Jordan Zemura
Midfielders: Tawanda Chirewa, Jonah Fabisch, Marshall Munetsi, Knowledge Musona, Marvelous Nakamba
Strikers: Bill Antonio, Khama Billiat, Prince Dube, Terrence Dzvukamanja, Tawanda Maswanhise, Walter Musona, Thando Ngwenya
The Betting:
At the time of writing Zimbabwe are 11/1 to win the game, the draw is 36/10 and South Africa are priced at 0.28/1
A game of 3 goals or more in total is even money and it's 17/10 for both teams to score
Verdict
I'm pulling for Bafana but I'm not so sure this is as straight forward as the match result betting suggests even though the game is staged in Durban. Zim's results largely comprise of draws and their 2 most recent defeats were by the minimum margin, you could also make a case that they raise their game against the stronger sides.
I'll go with Bafana but in a game of no more than 2 goals in total.
Bet: Winner and total match goals, South Africa and under 2.5 goals at 17/10 with Betway
Note, odds are subject to change