South Africa will be making another attempt at winning Africa’s most coveted football trophy, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), in 2024 in Ivory Coast. Bafana Bafana’s fortunes have been dipping over the years but they will be looking to make this count as they will be going for a second African title in their history. The first, and only time South Africa finished top in this competition was in 1996, winning it on home soil. Bafana Bafana would go on to do well in 1998 but that wasn’t good enough and it has been dwindling since. They have also missed out on a number of major competitions in recent years, which means they will not be among the favorites to win this time. With the quality of teams that have qualified, we can’t term Bafana Bafana as underdogs either. Ranked 65th in the world, Bafana Bafana are better placed globally than at least 11 sides taking part in the competition, which basically means they have a chance of giving a good account.
Pot Three
Pooled in Pot 3 of the final draw to be done on Thursday 12th October, South Africa could face at least two sides ranked above them in the FIFA list. If qualifiers from the group stages at the competition were to follow such ranking, Bafana Bafana should be able to progress, even if as the best third placed team after three group stage matches. Maybe going into the competition without much expectations will ease the pressure on Bafana Bafana. That’s why a bet on them at this point could be a masterstroke. There is more to that if you choose to bet on them through Easybet, a bookie that offers not just a good bonus, but also a range of markets and varied promotions. Sportytrader has the full review of Easybet South Africa and rating in 2023 to better inform on such. Bafana Bafana missed out on the tournament last time out and will want to make it count this time. The team however had a stroke of luck in the qualifiers for the 2023 edition, advancing from a group that had three teams owing to Zimbabwe’s FIFA suspension.
No debutants
The fact that the 2023 edition of AFCON will have no debutants means it could get very competitive thus the need to prepare well. Hugo Broos’ charges have a tough schedule to contend with before they can even think of the 2023 AFCON. This should be good for them, serving to prepare the team for the grueling nature of the AFCON finals. They will start off with two friendly matches in the October international break, taking on neighbors Eswatini before facing AFCON hosts Ivory Coast in friendly matches. In November things will be more competitive as the CAF region World Cup qualifiers get underway. South Africa will have at least two more competitive games before Hugo Broos gets to pick his squad. They have a home match against Benin on 13th November and away to Rwanda a week later. These are matches South Africa will be expected to win, and they come at an opportune moment for the manager.