Bafana Bafana have one foot in Egypt ahead of this weekend’s final Afcon 2019 qualifier.
All the national team needs to do to book their place at the tournament is avoid defeat in Libya and then they can look forward to some action in June.
But given that they have only qualified for one of the last five continental showpieces (remember in 2013 we hosted it because of war in Libya), that may be easier said than done.
We all know that coach Stuart Baxter’s job is on the line if he doesn’t get Bafana over the line, but what do we make of South African football should Percy Tau, Thulani Hlatshwayo and the boys fail?
The South African Football Association (Safa) will have to re-evaluate their grand Vision 2022 with success still evading them in the set timelines.
With the World Cup in Qatar starting to peek over the horizon, will Safa’s plan be good enough to see us through?
WINGBACK: Thami Mkhize can threaten
To answer to that question one has to consider many factors: the national youth teams, the quality of the league, development leagues and of course coaching.
Graduates from the likes of Amajita are still not featuring regularly at PSL level.
One of the reasons for that is that they get snapped up by the bigger clubs to sit on the bench.
And young players who go overseas may not be monitored as well as they should - think Luther Singh, Lyle Foster and Tashreeq Matthews.
The future may look bright with the coach Thabo Senong qualifying his U20s for another World Cup, but are we doing our best to help those players step up to the next level?
GOALS: Thalami Serero and Lars Veldwijk
Maybe, just maybe, I’m getting ahead of myself and come Sunday night Bafana will be celebrating.
And getting back to the fact that they only have to draw away from home, it’s a task that shouldn’t be beyond the team. This game is an all-or-nothing clash.
But Bafana will be making a huge mistake if they play for the point that will see them through.
Baxter’s squad should have the quality to beat the Libyans.
The Mediterranean Knights have a rookie coach in Fawzi Al-Issawi. With the hosts having played just one game under him, Bafana can’t be too sure of what to expect.
That though, should not be a concern for Baxter going into this match. All that matters is getting the team to win this game.
Nothing less than an impressive win after the disappointing goalless draw in Durban will do.
At least, the coach has made a contingency plan if they need goals late in the piece by recalling Dutch-based striker Lars Veldwyk.
DEEP: Aubrey Modiba must produce
The Sparta Rotterdam target man may not be a popular pick, but he does give you options when you need to pepper a team with long balls.
Bafana will have to be clinical in this clash. With so much attacking width available from wingbacks like Thami Mkhize and Aubrey Modiba coming from the deeper positions, Lebo Mothiba and Percy Tau will have to be smart with their positioning inside the Libyan danger zone.
The wingbacks will be super important to how Bafana manage this game.
Should Libya get a foothold, the wide players will have to get their positioning spot on.
They are key to how quickly SA can turn defence into attack and vice versa, charging up and down the flanks to add width in attack and chasing back behind the ball.