South Africa’s 1–1 draw with Nigeria in Bloemfontein last night tightened their grip on Group C, yet their place at the 2026 World Cup remains unconfirmed. Bafana Bafana produced an early breakthrough when Nigeria’s William Troost-Ekong diverted a cross into his own net, only for Calvin Bassey to bundle in a scramble just before half-time to level the score. The stalemate maintains South Africa’s six-point advantage over the Super Eagles, but the task is not yet complete.

Two fixtures still loom: home to Zimbabwe and away to Rwanda. South Africa still requires at least one more win to guarantee automatic qualification. Two draws might suffice, thanks to their superior goal difference, but the team cannot afford to let complacency slip in at this stage.

History underlines the significance. Bafana Bafana have qualified for the World Cup as a non-host only twice: in 1998 in France and in 2002 in Korea and Japan. On both occasions, they failed to progress beyond the group stage. Their only other appearance came as hosts in 2010, when they again did not advance past the group stage.

With Bafana Bafana playing well, coupled with the expansion of the tournaments size, offering potentially weaker opponents in the group phase may allow South Africa to break this pattern and advance to the knockout rounds.

Nigeria, meanwhile, must win both their remaining matches and hope South Africa lose twice. The mathematics still allow for a turnaround, but the odds are now stacked heavily against them.