Bafana Bafana will turn their attention to their 2026 World Cup qualifiers when they host Lesotho at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Friday.
South Africa are among three teams in Group C on seven points, alongside Rwanda and Benin, while Lesotho are two points behind.
That therefore means three points are important for both sides given the tight nature of the group and South Africa will feel this is a match they must win before travelling to Benin next week.
South Africa and Lesotho are not new to each other with their last meeting coming nearly four years ago although there exists a big gulf in class between the two teams which should give Hugo Broos and his men confidence of winning.
Form guide
Bafana Bafana come into the match on the back of an unblemished 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification phase, when they topped their group, ending it with wins away to Uganda and at home to South Sudan last November.
They are also coming into the World Cup qualifiers for the first time since June 2024 when they played out a 1-1 draw away to Nigeria before beating Zimbabwe 3-1 in Bloemfontein.
Meanwhile, Lesotho beat Zimbabwe 2-0 before losing to Rwanda 1-0 in the World Cup qualifiers in June 2024 and in their AFCON qualifiers, they lost four, drew one and won one.
That is a record that will give South Africa belief that three points are possible in Polokwane.
Head-to-head
South Africa and Lesotho have met 13 times across all competitions since 1995 with Bafana Bafana winning seven, three drawn while Likuena have won as many.
Their last meeting was in July 2021 in a COSAFA Cup match which South Africa won 4-0 with Victor Letsoalo scoring a hat-trick.
Team news
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has a big decision to make at centre-back with Rushwin Dortley out injured which means he will likely field Siyabonga Ngezana and Grant Kekana while in central midfield, Thalente Mbatha will continue to partner Teboho Mokoena with Sphephelo Sithole still out injured.
With his two goals against Mamelodi Sundowns and Broos talking highly of him, will Relebohile Mofokeng get a rare start?
What have they said?
Coach Broos is not taking Lesotho lightly despite the fact that they are the underdogs.
“I think we can make a big step to qualification [if Bafana wins both games against Lesotho and Benin], I am sure. But we have to do it, so again these are very important games, very tough games, because don’t underestimate Lesotho, maybe not on quality but on mentality,” he said.
“It is a team that fights for 90 minutes for every metre and certainly when they play against South Africa, they will do one step more, I’m sure of it.”
Meanwhile, Lesotho coach Leslie Notsi is promising a major upset on enemy territory.
“We're saying, ‘look, as a small footballing country, here's an opportunity to progress, to go in there, give it our all’. It's an opportunity for our boys to improve, to get that international exposure, which I believe they cherish,” Notsi said as per SuperSport.
“Our previous results in these qualifiers have been very encouraging. We go in there knowing that it's not going to be easy, but we’re going to give our all.”
Time & where to watch
The match will kick off at 18:00 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium and will be live on SuperSport TV as well as SABC.
Score prediction
South Africa 3-0 Lesotho
