Goal has your complete guide to Afcon 2019, including fixtures, results, tables and squads, as Bafana Bafana got in quest of continental gold
South Africa is participating in their 10th Africa Cup of Nations tournament since re-admission to international football in 1992.
Their first appearance which was in 1996 saw Bafana Bafana win their only continental title when they beat Tunisia 2-0 on home soil, but it was in the late 1990s and early 2000s where Bafana offered real competition to their continental rivals as they finished as runners-up and finished third in 1998 and 2000 respectively.
Bafana failed to qualify in 2010 and 2012, and again in 2017, but did feature in 2015 when they fell at the first hurdle despite qualifying in style under Shakes Mashaba.
Having failed to qualify for the previous edition, Stuart Baxter’s charges are hoping to do better this time around, especially after making it past the group stages.
Bafana made it into the knockout stages as one of the four best third-placed nations despite collecting three points in three matches.
During the qualifiers, Bafana finished second in Group E, a point behind Nigeria, who topped the standings with 13 points.
Impressively, Bafana conceded just two goals in six qualifying matches, and scored a whopping 11 in the process.
South Africa Afcon 2019 Group D results
Bafana Bafana are in the ‘group of death’ after being drawn with the Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, and Morocco.
However, they will fancy their chances against all three of their opponents following their fine qualifying campaign, and faced both the Cote d’Ivoire and Namibia at the 1998 Afcon finals in Egypt.
| Date | Fixture | Score | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 June | Cote d’Ivoire vs. South Africa | 1-0 | Cairo | Al-Salam Stadium |
| 28 June | South Africa vs. Namibia | 1-0 | Cairo | Al-Salam Stadium |
| 01 July | South Africa vs. Morocco | 0-1 | Cairo | Al-Salam Stadium |
South Africa Afcon 2019 Group D table
| POS | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Cote d’Ivoire | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | South Africa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Namibia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
South Africa Afcon 2019 Last 16 result
South Africa needed a few favours from other nations for them to book their place in the Last 16 of Afcon 2019.
However, they grabbed the opportunity with both hands as they came up against host nation Egypt at the Cairo International Stadium.
Very few people expected Bafana Bafana to perform on the day let alone beat the Pharaohs in front of their own fans.
But they achieved this in style, thanks to Thembinkosi Lorch’s strike toward the end of the encounter.
South Africa Afcon 2019 Quarter-final fixture
South Africa will now take on old foes Nigeria in the quarter-finals.
The two nations have a rivalry which dates back to the 1990s, and while the Super Eagles have dominated this fixture in head-to-head to stats, Bafana Bafana have had the better of their nemesis in recent years.
Ironically, Bafana faced Nigeria twice during the 2015 Afcon qualifiers and held them to draws both at home and away from home.
Coach Stuart Baxter kicked off his Afcon 2019 qualifying campaign against the 2013 African champions, and he beat them 2-0 in Uyo before the two sides played to a draw in the return.
Furthermore, Baxter is yet to lose a match against the Super Eagles in his two tenures for South Africa. He became the first Bafana coach to beat Nigeria in 2004.
South Africa Afcon 2019 squad
On Tuesday, Stuart Baxter announced his provisional squad for the continental showpiece, but he will have to choose his best 23 before June 10.
There are several players who would feel hard done after being left out of the 30-man squad, including Aubrey Modiba, Dino Ndlovu and Vincent Pule among others.
Itumeleng Khune was not included in the squad as he’s still recovering from a shoulder injury which saw him miss the better part of the 2018/19 PSL season.
Here is Bafana’s provisional squad as announced by Baxter on Tuesday:
Goalkeepers: Darren Keet (Bidvest Wits), Rowen Williams (SuperSport United), Bruce Bvuma (Kaizer Chiefs).
Defenders: Daniel Cardoso (Kaizer Chiefs), Rivaldo Coetzee (Mamelodi Sundowns), Ramahlwe Mphahlele (Kaizer Chiefs), Thulani Hlatshwayo (Bidvest Wits), Innocent Maela (Orlando Pirates), S’fiso Hlanti (Bidvest Wits), Buhle Mkhawanazi (Bidvest Wits), Thamsanqa Mkhize (Cape Town City).
Midfielders: Bongani Zungu (Amiens. France), Hlompho Kekana (Mamelodi Sundowns), Dean Furman (SuperSport United), Kamohelo Mokotjo (Brentford, England), Tiyani Mabunda (Mamelodi Sundowns), Thulani Serero (Vitesse, Netherlands), Thembinkosi Lorch (Orlando Pirates), Themba Zwane (Mamelodi Sundowns), Fortune Makaringe (Maritzburg United), Ben Motshwari (Orlando Pirates), Keagan Dolly (Montpellier, France).
Strikers: Lebo Mothiba (Strasbourg, France), Percy Tau (Royale St Union, Belgium), Lars Veldwijk (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands), Lebogang Maboe (Mamelodi Sundowns), Sibusiso Vilakazi (Mamelodi Sundowns), Kermit Erasmus (Cape Town City).
Pending passport: Nikola Tavares (Crystal Palace, England) and Joel Unteresee (FC Zurich, Switzerland).
South Africa Afcon 2019 qualifying results
Bafana Bafana failed to score in two of their six qualifying matches, against Libya (home) and Seychelles (away).
Their biggest win came against Seychelles at the FNB Stadium when they hammered the islanders with six unanswered goals to enhance their chances of qualifying, and the result helped them stay ahead of Libya on the Group E standings.
Baxter was proud that his team took four points from the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who were strong favourites to finish top of the group before qualifying campaign began.
He was, however, disappointed by the goalless draw away to Seychelles, as that result could have cost them a place at the Afcon finals had they fallen to Libya in their final qualifier.
| Fixture | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria vs. South Africa | 0-2 | 1-1 |
| South Africa vs. Libya | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| South Africa vs. Seychelles | 6-0 | 0-0 |
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