Bafana Bafana can’t sit on their laurels.
They need just one point from their last two Group C clashes and they will book their place at Afcon 2022.
That should just be a case of dotting i’s and crossing t’s, but this is Bafana and stranger things have happened.
So what exactly could go wrong?
Well, we’ll probably still be fighting this coronavirus next March, despite the announcement of two touted vaccines in the last two weeks.
But I can’t see those being distributed to the almost eight billion humans living on this crazy planet by then.
Not only is the virus still a threat, but the tight schedules in world football has seen an alarming number of injuries to players.
With games coming thick and fast, manne are not being afforded the time to recover properly between matches.
A look over at the Premier League this week and about 100 players are unavailable to play thanks to factors that can only be explained as “peak 2020”.
Not only are there a record 16 positive Covid-19 cases, but the treatment rooms are filled with muscle injury complaints – which really paints the picture.
Bafana boss Molefi Ntseki had to swop out eight of his initial 25-man squad for the recent Sao Tome and Principe matches and it caused quite the disruption.
So come next March, when they have to face Ghana and Sudan, he will be keeping his fingers crossed that his players are fit and vars.
But while injuries will always be part of the game, playing back-to-back home games will probably not be.
Bafana’s performances against Sao Tome were far from convincing, especially when you consider that both games were on home soil against the 182nd-ranked team in the world.
The 2-0 win in Durban was really worrying.
To be honest, I have better things to watch on TV on a Friday night than a football match – as much as I love it. But come on. A Friday night? I’ll rather watch the new Borat movie.
But I digress. That first half on Friday was some really bad stuff.
They needed a second-half penalty and a late headed goal from substitute Bongani Zungu to avoid a march to the chopping block.
And then in Monday’s game, Sao Tome took the lead and then had a chance to take the lead with 10 minutes to play.
It should never have been that close. Bafana’s defence looked clueless under the high ball and the islanders took advantage.
Usually, tactics can remedy that by blocking the crosses coming in, because winning the aerial battles look uncontested.
This is something they need to sort out.
Then let’s talk about the midfield. I want to believe that it can be more dynamic than it is.
Maybe I just miss Bafana having a Doctor Khumalo or Shoes Moshoeu in the middle, because right now it’s too stodgy.
But, without trying to heap too much pressure on Bongani Zungu, he should and must improve as the No.6 in this team.
Under Steven Gerrard at Glasgow Rangers, he has one of the best to learn from. And his link-up play with former Mamelodi Sundowns teammates Themba Zwane,
Keagan Dolly and Percy Tau was great for our attack.
But manne can’t be getting grootkoppe now after beating the 182nd-ranked team in the world twice, during a global pandemic and at home.
Bafana still need a point against the Black Stars and Sudan sides. It’s far from over, Bafana.