Africa-Press – Uganda. South Africa’s march toward the 2026 Fifa World Cup has turned into a tale of near-banished glory. What looked like a steady cruise to qualification now feels like a fight against destiny itself.
It all began with promise — a spirited draw at home against African heavyweights Nigeria that seemed to affirm Bafana Bafana’s resurgence under Belgian coach Hugo Broos.
But that result has since been overshadowed by Fifa’s decision to dock South Africa three points for fielding an ineligible player, midfielder Teboho Mokoena, in the March 21 match against Lesotho.
According to the Fifa Disciplinary Committee, South Africa breached Article 19 of the Disciplinary Code and Article 14 of the World Cup Preliminary Competition Regulations by fielding Mokoena.
The ruling awarded Lesotho a 3–0 victory, fined the South African Football Association CHF 10,000 (about $12,500), and issued Mokoena — a Mamelodi Sundowns star — a formal warning.
The punishment cut deep. With the three-point deduction, South Africa’s tally dropped to 14 — level with Benin — reopening the qualification door for a resurgent Nigeria, who sit just three points behind.
For Bafana, the blow was more than mathematical. It tore into their psychological fabric. Having once held the group in their grasp, they now find themselves hoping their fiercest continental rivals can do them a favour.
When Nigeria host group leaders Benin tomorrow, South Africans will be united in uneasy prayer. Ninety-nine hearts will beat for the Super Eagles; the hundredth will cling to hope in Johannesburg, where victory over Rwanda is non-negotiable.
Anything less, and Bafana’s dream could dissolve completely.
Their previous trip to Kigali ended in heartbreak — a 1–0 defeat that underscored their unpredictable form. Now, even second place is under threat.
The top team from each of the nine groups automatically qualifies for the finals in Canada, the USA, and Mexico, while only the four best runners-up advance through Caf’s revised criteria.
The confederation’s rules further complicate Bafana’s plight: results against the bottom teams in each group will not count toward determining the best second-placed finishers. With Lesotho currently among the lower-ranked sides, South Africa’s chances take yet another hit.
This leaves Broos’ men potentially marooned at 14 points, far behind other group runners-up such as Uganda, Gabon, DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Niger — all of whom enjoy healthier records.
The sense of déjà vu is cruel. South Africa, who first graced the global stage at France ’98 and returned in 2002 before hosting the iconic 2010 “Jabulani” World Cup, are once again staring at elimination — this time not by defeat on the pitch, but by an administrative lapse.
It is a bitter irony that Mokoena, one of South Africa’s most dynamic midfielders, should become the symbol of a technical error that may cost a nation its World Cup ticket.
For now, the Bafana Bafana can only fight what remains within their reach: two matches, two must-wins, and a desperate hope that fate — so unkindly rewritten in Zurich boardrooms — will yet find room for mercy on the pitch.
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