With their destiny in their own hands, Bafana Bafana will face Tunisia in a crucial Group E AFCON encounter. Desh Parthab previews.
AFCON 2023
Match 33 – South Africa v Tunisia
Wednesday 24 January | 19:00
With Bafana Bafana recording their biggest-ever AFCON victory, they have forced their way into contention for qualification to the round of 16. Standing in their way, a Tunisia outfit who are rock-bottom of Group E having conceded the opening goal in both their fixtures so far.
To Win Match
South Africa 51/20 | Draw 33/20 | Tunisia 12/10
After an opening-day defeat to Yves Bissouma’s Mali, South Africa smashed Namibia 4-0 to get their AFCON campaign back on track. That was just the second time that Bafana Bafana have scored four or more goals in an AFCON fixture, with the other also being a 4-1 win against Namibia, in 1998.
Bafana Bafana have amassed three points, after their two AFCON fixtures. One can only describe their opening-day defeat to Mali as a game of two halves. The game could have taken a dramatic turn if Percy Tau have converted his spot kick in the 19th minute after Maseko drew a foul in the box.
Hugo Broos’ men would go on to start the game strong against Namibia, opening the scoring through Tau, from the penalty spot in a moment of redemption. Former Sundowns teammate, Themba Zwane, would add a quickfire double that saw Bafana take a 3-0 lead into the half-time interval. Maseko added a fourth in the final half an hour to make one thing clear – the Sundowns imprint is more than evident in the South African national team.
Tunisia’s AFCON campaign got off to an embarrassing start – defeat on opening day by a Namibia side who are ranked 87 places below them in the FIFA rankings. This was Namibia’s first-ever win at AFCON.
The Eagles of Carthage secured their ticket for AFCON in some fashion – conceding just a single goal across their six qualifiers. Despite finishing top of their qualifying group, their defensive unit has been picked apart in Ivory Coast.
They are yet to keep a clean sheet, with Namibia and Mali each attempting 10+ shots across their respective fixtures.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Cophenagen’s none of Elias Achouri, Sheffield United’s Ben Slimane, Zamalek’s Seifeddine Jaziri or veteran hitman Youssef Msakni have managed to find the back of the net. With one point after two fixtures, Jalel Kadri will be forced to shake things up in this one.
Verdict: Double Chance – South Africa/Draw 11/20
The thrashing of Namibia was the perfect shot in the arm for this Bafana side, especially after their insipid second-half display against Mali in their opener. This tournament has seen plenty of upsets, and I reckon we could see another here. Bafana/Draw double chance for me at 11/20.
