– Cape Town Hugo Broos earned the ire of Bafana Bafana supporters after South Africa failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but he will regain their favor if his team defeats Sierra Leone tomorrow.
Bafana have never defeated the poor West Africans in four previous matches, nor have they scored a goal against them in that time.
In 2008, Sierra Leone’s national squad, nicknamed “Leone Stars,” defeated Ghana 1-0. The subsequent three contests were all tied 0-0.
The worst result occurred in October 2011 when South Africa needed to win to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations but misinterpreted the regulations. Instead, the team fought for a draw at home in Nelspruit and achieved it.
Bafana went on a victory lap after the match, only to discover, to their great embarrassment, that they did not qualify because a victory was required.
Pitso Mosimane, the then-coach of Bafana Bafana, revealed after the match that he had made a costly error in the qualification calculations and told reporters, “I feel like a failure.”
This defeat signalled the beginning of Mosimane’s end as national team coach.
Tomorrow’s stage at FNB Stadium is prepared for Broos and Bafana to make at least three pieces of history. First of all, if Bafana wins, Broos will become the first national team coach to lead a victory over the 113th-ranked West Africans. Bafana are ranked 68th in the world.
Two further historical landmarks await. Bafana will score the first goal against Sierra Leone, and the scorer will be the first player to score against them in history.
Obviously, if the initial score results from an own goal, a South African will not receive that distinction. If a SA player scores after that, it will still be considered a historic feat.
In the likely case that the home team wins, it will be South Africa’s first victory over Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone is coached by John Keister, a former Sierra Leone player from Manchester. His career spanned little over two decades in England, when he primarily played for League Two teams.
Seven times Sierra Leone’s captain, he was appointed coach in 2017. In August of 2020, he was reappointed after his resignation in 2019.
In March, he led Sierra Leone to consecutive victories against Liberia and Congo. Both matches took place three days apart in Turkey. They were victorious despite their opponents’ higher world rankings.
The club will be considerably bolstered by the return of injured striker Augustine “Augi” Williams, who was hurt in Turkey. In the United States, he plays for Charleston Battery in the USL Championship (second tier) as the team’s starting No. 9.
He has been in excellent form in the USL Championship, and he will undoubtedly be the center of attention tomorrow at FNB Stadium (3pm kick-off).
@Herman Gibbs