March 29 – South Africa will return to the Africa Cup of Nations after booking their ticket with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Liberia. Senegal, Burkina Faso and Tunisia also ensured their presence at the finals in Ivory Coast with wins on Tuesday.
The South Africans missed out on the 2021 finals, prompting another crisis at the South African Football Association (SAFA), an organisation that has long been dysfunctional, but Belgian coach Hugo Broos on Tuesday guided Bafana Bafana back to the big stage with a tight win in Monrovia.
“This country should normally be on every edition of the Africa Cup,” said Broos. “I didn’t understand why it didn’t work out in recent years.”
“This victory is therefore very important for us because we have a team with young players. We want to make as much progress as possible in the next 10 months.”
South Africa have four points in second place in Group K, reduced to three teams by the expulsion of Zimbabwe. On one point, the Liberians could still draw level with Bafana Bafana if they beat Morocco in their next match but then CAF’s head-to-head ruling would see South Africa remain in second place.
Elsewhere, Senegal punched their ticket with a 1-0 victory against Mozambique. They have 12 points, eight more than second-placed Mozambique and ten more than third-placed Rwanda who play Benin on Wednesday. A first-half goal by Boulaye Dia was enough for the reigning African champions to see off Mozambique.
Tunisia defeated neighbours Libya 1-0 to claim a ticket to Ivory Coast. The defeat meant that for the sixth time in a row, the Libyans have failed to qualify, leaving their frustrated fans to attack the visiting team by throwing water bottles from the stands after the final whistle. Burinka Faso also qualified despite drawing 1-1 with Togo.
The qualifiers will resume in June with 17 spots still up for grabs for the final tournament in Ivory Coast in 2024.
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