Bafana out to sink Morocco

Bafana out to sink Morocco

Bafana Bafana will out to upset World Cup finalists Morocco in Rabat on Thursday night and the match is included in the day’s second Soccer 10 pool which has all the ingredients to produce a mega payout

By Mark Gleeson

Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for the 2023 finals in the Ivory Coast have gone largely with form since the group games got under last Wednesday, but

Bafana Bafana will be aiming for an upset away against Morocco on Thursday.

Cup of Nations and Nations League group clashes are forming the bulk of matches in TAB soccer pools during the current international window. But in spite of many predictable results, TAB’s Soccer 10 is delivering some bumper payouts including 14 TAB customers each collecting over R117,000 last weekend.

And there’s certainly the chance of a mega payout in Thursday’s second Soccer 10 pool, which includes the Morocco-Bafana clash.

It is a game that Hugo Broos’ team are not expected to win, given the strength of the star-studded Morocco side, who have qualified for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

South Africa look inexperienced again and underwhelming in terms of selection, but have had plenty of preparation time, having been in camp since last week.

Morocco have already played an international in the last seven days and losing 3-0 away to the USA in Cincinnati was a blow that has heaped pressure on them, especially in front of their home supporters in Rabat. South Africa will hope they struggle under a heavy burden of expectation.

These qualifiers have again shown that there remains a predictable divide between the heavyweights of African football and the rest, although that said Tanzania could spring a surprise in their home game against Algeria tomorrow night.

Algeria did beat Uganda on Saturday 2-0 at home, but the North African country remains in a confidence crisis after a disastrous defence of the Cup of Nations title at the tournament in Cameroon in January and then losing out in March’s World Cup playoffs.

Another game that might prove tough is Ivory Coast in Soweto on Thursday night. They are hosted at the Dobsonville Stadium by Lesotho, whose own stadia have been declared substandard by the Confederation of African Football and therefore have been forced to move their game across the border.

Lesotho are a long shot for victory, but the Ivorians might struggle with the altitude and be distracted by their impending holidays.

In the Nations League in Europe, Germany host England tonight in Munich in a clash of titans. Germany drew with Italy at the weekend, but England lost embarrassingly in Hungary, who had not beaten them for 60 years.

It is always a closely fought affair between these old rivals, but the Germans have looked much more polished of late. And England manager Gareth Southgate is being criticised for favouring a cautious back-three system when most of his squad do not play that way with their clubs.

Four TAB soccer pools get cash add-ins this weekend, including two R250,000 added Soccer 10 pools, but more about that in Friday’s TAB Sports Express Update.