South Africa Suffers Major Setback As Nigeria Receives Much-Needed Boost in WCQ
- South Africa has hit a major setback ahead of their crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Rwanda
- Hugo Broos will be without a key player after he pulled out of the squad due to an injury early Tuesday
- Bafana Bafana must beat Rwanda in Mbombela and hope Nigeria will do them a favour and beat Benin
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South Africa has hit a major setback on the morning of their crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier match against Rwanda in Mbombela.
Bafana Bafana must beat the Amavubi and hope that Nigeria beats Benin Republic in Uyo, which will help them top the group and pick the automatic ticket.
Source: Getty Images
However, the Super Eagles must beat Benin Republic and rely on South Africa not to beat Rwanda to qualify, making both countries look out for the other.
Benin Republic, led by former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr, is the only country with a straight path; beat Nigeria and qualify for the first-ever FIFA World Cup.
Matchday nine results altered the landscape of the group. Nigeria and Benin beat Lesotho and Rwanda, while South Africa drew against their neighbours, Zimbabwe, which added intrigue to the final day.
Lyle Foster withdraws from South Africa squad
According to Goal, Premier League star Lyle Foster has withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana squad due to an injury picked up in training ahead of Rwanda clash.
Stellenbosch FC striker Ashley Cupido has been called up as a late replacement for the Burnley striker, in a big blow for Hugo Broos’ side.
“Lyle Foster has been withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana matchday squad due to an injury. After consultation with the medical team, a decision was taken to withdraw him. Ashley Cupido has been called up as his replacement,” a statement by Bafana Bafana reads.
As noted by Transfermarkt, Foster has played five matches for Bafana Bafana during the World Cup qualifier, scored two goals and provided one assist, all of which came away.
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South Africans are displeased at Broos’s choice of replacement, naming other strikers, Bradley Grobler and Tashreeq Matthews, as better options.
@nonchelete_ wrote:
“Our striker options are Makgopa and Cupido? Together, they’ve only scored one goal this entire season. 😭 While Bradley Grobler and Tashreeq Mathews scored 6 and 4 goals respectively.”
Source: Getty Images
@ciniso_dhlamini wrote:
“🤣🤣on the day where Bafana needs goals? No offense to Cupido, but Grobler was a better replacement. This is the same coach who once criticised Zwane and was stubborn until Zwane proved to him that age is just a number.”
@nngm220412 wrote:
“Hugo Broos doesn’t take us seriously. We are going to our most crucial game with Makgopa as our main striker and Cupido as our backup striker. They scored only one goal combined this season of which was a penalty. We have a striker like Grobler with 9 goals this season left out.”
Hugo Broos speaks ahead of Rwanda clash
Legit.ng reported that Hugo Broos admitted that World Cup qualification is no longer in South Africa’s hands as they only have to beat Rwanda and hope things work.
Bafana Bafana were undone by FIFA's three-point deduction for a technical mistake of fielding Teboho Mokoena against Lesotho despite yellow card accumulation.
Proofreading by Omoleye Omoruyi, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
