With Thursday wounds still fresh on their collective skins, South Africa (SA) welcome Sudan in their second Group C African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg Nov. 17.
This particular Afcon qualification game for Cameroon 2021 will start at 15h00 and South African Broadcasting Corporation will carry the live broadcast on television this afternoon through SABC 1.
Three days ago, Bafana Bafana (SA) lost 2-0 away to Ghana. Today, licking their gashes, they will be back home and looking for revenge in a clash head coach Molefi Ntseki called “a must-win match” against Sudan drawn in the same group. For their part, the Sudanese travel to Johannesburg surely basking on their 4-0 glittering home victory against São Tomé and Príncipe last Wednesday.
Although Sudan are not world beaters, South Africa can not afford to go through another setback. Neither is there a room to be complacent with a slender lead should it come earlier in the game. However, they will surely be wary. And should be. Laying third in Group C, they have no single point to begin with.
While Sudan could not have wished for a glorious start deservedly perched on pole position owing to goal difference, they will bring out their dedicated troops to get something out of this 2021 Afcon qualification away encounter.
Commenting on the Ghana defeat and the Sudan fixture in the offing, Ntseki was quoted on SAFA.net saying:
“We are playing in front of our fans, we lost three points in Ghana, and now we must come out firing on all cylinders against Sudan. We need to be aggressive from the first whistle because in the qualifiers if you don’t win your home games you are as good as not making in the to the next stage. We have suffered a setback but now we need to get our campaign back on track.”
The Ghana and SA game last Thursday Nov. 14 was not televised in any SA TV stations but streamed online. Naturally, the majority of South Africans were unable to watch the game due to lack of access. A full-to-the-brim Orlando Stadium will be a massive boost to the players. (As published here in the past, Bafana Bafana can hardly fill up a stadium nowadays.) Nevertheless, the general public can watch it live on television following last Thursday TV blackout in South Africa.
To round up the second games of the 2021 Afcon qualifiers, São Tomé and Príncipe inter alia will host Ghana tomorrow in Group C at Stade Nacional 12 de Julho Stadium Nov. 18, 2019 at 16h00.