AN UPSET ON THE CARDS FOR BAFANA?

As the legendary South African commentator, Baba Mthethwa would say in Sesotho, “Papadi ya bolo ha e na therefore”, directly translating that ‘In the game of football, there is no therefore…’

For example, 'Morocco reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, therefore, they’ll win AFCON!'

Wise words from the sagacious pundit as Bafana Bafana prepare for battle as the Atlas Lions arise from the Mountains of Marrakech with efforts to claim their first AFCON trophy since 1976.

A battle of ages will ensue at the Stade de San Pédro on Tuesday as South Africa take on Morocco in the last Round of 16 clash of the 2024 edition of the AFCON, an encounter that Hugo Broos’ men will hope to cause another upset in following the teams’ last meeting at the FNB Stadium last year.

The two teams clashed twice in the qualification stages of the AFCON, with both teams getting a 2-1 victory when playing home. 

In both encounters, Bafana Bafana gave a good account of themselves, playing very well in the first half of the game before easing off in the second half. In both encounters, Morocco took advantage of a sluggish Bafana side that couldn't maintain a high level in the second half.

Coming into this encounter, Bafana have had concerns around the availability of two cogs in their squad being Mthobi Mvala and Khuliso Mudau, who have been back in training and potentially could be available for the encounter.

For the Atlas Lions, head coach, Walid Regragui will be allowed to return to the dugout following his suspension, but he could be more concerned about the availability of his Turkish-based winger, Hakim Ziyech along with Sofiane Boufal, who have both been said to be struggling with niggling injuries.

Nonetheless, Bafana Bafana head coach, Hugo Broos, believes the team has what it takes to reach the AFCON final, especially if his team can get a win over Morocco.

"It’s amazing what happened in the group stages here in this Afcon. So, it asks a lot of the players, but I think if you manage them well, we can produce a good game against Morocco”, said the Bafana mentor.

“But Morocco are also on another level. They showed it at the last World Cup in Qatar. They have become a very good team with very good players.

“But we have played them twice — in Morocco we were a bit dominated but in Joburg we won against them. That must give us confidence for Tuesday’s game, and [believing] that even against such a good team as Morocco there are things that are possible.

“We have to believe in that, and then we will see. If we beat Morocco, then we know we have a big chance to play in the final.