Bafana Bafana have significantly enhanced their chances of progressing to the final stages of the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualification with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Ethiopia at FNB Stadium on Tuesday night.
As a result of this much-needed win that was secured through a first-half own goal by Ethiopian skipper and striker Getaneh Kebede, South Africa remains top of Group G with 10 points from three successive wins and one draw.
During this qualification process, Bafana have impressively scored five goals and conceded only one. They now have their fate in their own hands in their remaining matches against Zimbabwe at home and Ghana away next month.
The new midfield partnership of Ngcobo, Maart and Teboho Mokoena was impressive as they controlled things for most of the match.
Spectators were allowed into the venue for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic more than a year ago and the nearly 2,000 fans who turned up made their voices heard.
After 56 minutes, South Africa hit Ethiopia with a quick counter-attack that resulted in Makgopa’s goal-bound shot being cleared off the line by defender Suteman Hamid.
There were no goals to celebrate in the closing stages as Bafana held on for this important victory at home.
Watch all the live from this evening’s crunch Fifa 2022 World Cup Qualifier at the FNB Stadium, which will have approximately 2 000 spectators in attendance for the first time in 18 months!
Action at the FNB stadium gets underway at 18:00. The match will be televised live on SABC3 (S3).
You can also live stream today’s match between South Africa and Ethiopia by clicking on the following link, simply create an account for FREE and stream the game live on SABC3’s TELKOMONE channel below:
Bafana Bafana vs Ethiopia LIVE STREAM
STARTING LINE-UP
South Africa
Williams, Mobbie, Mashego, Xulu, De Reuck, Ngcobo, Maart, Mokoena, Hlongwane, Letsoalo, Makgopa
Substitutes: Mothwa, Bvuma, Blom, Brooks, Zuke, Donn, Kutumela, Fleurs, Hlanti, Mabasa
WE’LL PLAY BETTER ON THE FNB STADIUM PITCH – HUGO BROOS
“I don’t think it was easy on the ball, and that is certainly the pitch,” Bafana Bafana Hugo Broos said following his side’s 3-1 away victory on Saturday afternoon.
“We were a little bit afraid when the ball was coming off a bad control. You saw that in our game also, we were not confident like we were against Ghana and the only reason for this is the pitch.
“I said it before the game that I don’t understand how for such an important game against Bafana, that Ethiopia is coming to play on this pitch in Bahir Dar.
“It’s also not good for them because they are a team who plays football. It’s not kick and rush football that they play, but on this field, you can do nothing else other than kick and rush because it is difficult.”