1 week Ago
Bafana qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations before facing Uganda in their penultimate group qualifier on Friday afternoon. This after South Sudan pulled off a surprise 3-2 win over Congo-Brazzaville on Thursday and, as a result, third-placed Congo can no longer qualify, as they are four points behind second-placed South Africa, with only one game to play. However, the stakes are still high with regards to how Broos will use Sundowns players, as the last two qualifier matches are basically dead-rubbers, including the final group game against Sudan in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The Tshwane giants will be the most keen spectators in the last two non-consequential qualifiers, as they have a Carling Knockout final four days after the final group encounter. Mngqithi suggested after the previous FIFA break that they as a club would prefer for Broos to rest or not use their players, should Bafana qualify with matches to spare or even in some friendly matches, as in the past, Sundowns players, who normally have a hectic schedule, have not been properly managed in terms of their physical conditioning. The 53-year-old, before having a meeting with the Belgian to iron out issues, said: "We will be able to talk around those issues.
Because sometimes when it's a friendly, we might request that: 'Hey, for friendly matches we should not [release players]." "If it's a qualifier and we've already qualified, for instance, we can always try to talk [for Sundowns players to be reserved]," Mngqithi suggested. Ahead of the next two qualifier dead-rubbers, the 72-year-old would also not have an excuse for overusing Masandawana players, as there is also no reward for finishing top of the qualifier group.
The seeding process in the AFCON tournament group phase is determined by the FIFA rankings at the time the draw is conducted. Unless, the former Cameroon mentor argues that he does not want Bafana to drop in the rankings for the purposes of seeding ahead of the tournament in Morocco. But that argument would also not hold much water, as the biennial showpiece will only start in December 2025 and the draw could only be made a month prior.
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