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Elias Sepho Mokwana put Bafana in the lead just before half time. Picture: GALLO IMAGES/RICHARD HUGGARD
Elias Sepho Mokwana put Bafana in the lead just before half time. Picture: GALLO IMAGES/RICHARD HUGGARD

Bafana Bafana will have to beat Uganda in Kampala in November to ensure consecutive qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) after playing to a 1-1 draw against Republic of Congo at Stade Alphonse Massamba-Debat de Brazzaville on Tuesday.

A win would have ensured Hugo Broos’ side join Uganda among the teams that have qualified for the 2025 Afcon with two games to spare.

Uganda beat South Sudan 2-1 on Tuesday to book their ticket to Morocco while Bafana were held in Brazzaville by the team they were expected to wallop after they had trashed them 5-0 in Gqeberha last Friday. 

If Bafana fail to get victory in Kampala on November 11 they will have another chance to qualify ahead of the Congo as long as they beat South Sudan at home on November 19. 

Elias Mokwana’s 33rd minute strike gave SA a deserved lead but poor defending by Bafana on the stroke of halftime allowed the home side to equalise.

Mokwana’s goal was far from easy as he had to control a great pass from Aubrey Modiba, beat a few defenders before firing a shot that looked to have been saved by Congo keeper Ethan Vimalin but bounced off him back into the path of Mokwana who made no mistake with his second shot.

Bafana were in full control as half time approached and were unlucky not take the lead three times.

Bafana’s talisman Themba Zwane, who suffered an injury and was replaced by Patrick Maswanganyi a few minutes after Mokwana’s goal, was unlucky to see his strike parried over the bar by Vimalin after Khuliso Mudau and Mokwana had combined well on the right to set Zwane free.

Mokwana should have scored earlier after the Congo defence let him run through but shot wide. Bafana defender Rushwin Dortley also saw his header cleared off the line after he had connected well with Oswin Appolli’s corner kick.

But just as it looked as if Bafana will go to the break leading, a lapse of concentration by Dortley and Grant Kekana at the back gave Congolese striker Andre Bassouamina enough room to level matters deep into referee’s first-half optional time.

Congo started the second half a better side, forcing Bafana to retreat and make mistakes that led to a corner, which was cleared by Mudau off the line in the 51st minute.

Congo had to win this match to keep their hopes of qualifying alive and came close to finding the winner through their skipper, Ganvoula Mboussy, but his shot went wide with a few minutes remaining. But as they were eager to find goals they also left themselves vulnerable to Bafana’s counter.

In other matches a 96th-minute winner from Sadio Mane earned Senegal a 1-0 win over Malawi and a place at the Afcon finals, but Ghana are in serious danger of missing out after a surprise loss to Sudan.

Senegal had 30 attempts at goal against their hosts but it took until the final seconds for Mane to seal victory with a 20m free-kick that curled around the wall and into the bottom corner of the net.

The 2021 winners, who recently parted ways with long-time coach Aliou Cisse, join Burkina Faso as the qualified nations from Group L in the 24-team finals with two more matches to play in the November international window.

Ghana slumped to a 2-0 loss against Sudan in neutral Libya as Ahmed Al-Tash and Mohamed Abdel Rahman scored within three minutes of each other in the second half.

Ghana look set to miss a first continental finals since 2004 having managed a paltry two points from their four games, five adrift of the qualification positions with a difficult trip to pool leaders Angola next up.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) qualified after a 2-0 victory in Tanzania as Meschack Elia scored a brace, his first in the 88th minute and the second deep into stoppage time. They have a full haul of 12 points from their four games.

Coach Avram Grant’s Zambia claimed an important 1-0 win over Chad to take a big step towards qualification thanks to Kennedy Musonda’s goal 20 minutes from the end.

Gabon are also on course after a 2-0 win over Lesotho in neutral Durban, with Shavy Babicka and Rody Effaghe grabbing goals in the second half.

Hosts Morocco, Cameroon and Algeria are the other teams already in the finals line-up.

Additional reporting Reuters

 

 

 

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