Timmy T Maranda
With the dream of playing in the 2022 African Cup of Nations firmly in their sights, Bafana Bafana threw away their chances, losing 2-0 to Sudan at the Al Hilal Stadium in Sudan.
Despite needing only a draw to qualify, Bafana Bafana’s dream went up in smoke as they lost concentration when it mattered most, living up to the words of former president, Jacob Zuma, who said: “Bafana Bafana always play but they don’t qualify.”
With the win, Sudan qualifies as runners up in Pool C behind Ghana. Sudan were the champions in 1970 but this is the first time they have qualified since 2012.
Eldin Terry punished the sloppy Bafana Bafana defense to put Sudan in the lead with a free header that beat Ronwen Williams.
Much against the run of play that saw Bafana passing and attacking, Mohamed Abdelrahman doubled the lead for Sudan from a counterattack. Abdelrahman turned captain Thulani Hlatshwayo in the box before slotting past Ronwen Williams going to the break.
Sudan came back stronger in the second half while Bafana struggled to conjure up passes as they did in the first half.
In the other Group C match, Ghana made light work of winless Sao Tome, beating them 3-1 to claim top spot with 13 points from Six matches to seal their Afcon qualification in grand style.
Picture source: @BafanaBafana
