The 2026 FIFA World Cup is slowly approaching, so it’s no surprise we have access to many amazing qualifiers. Aside from those in Europe, we also have the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), which is the African section of the qualifications.
There are plenty of interesting matches to follow here, and South Africa is going to be one of the primary teams to pay attention to. The country is located in Pot 2 and ended up in Group C.
At the time of writing, South Africa is 1st in its group after playing 8 matches and winning 5 of them. Currently, the team is 3 points clear of Benin, so the competition for the first two spots will be fierce. That’s why it is time to review Banafa Banafa’s journey in the 2026 World Cup so far, go over each of their upcoming clashes and learn more about them.
South Africa vs Lesotho – March 21, 2025
The first clash we will overview is the one between South Africa and Lesotho. The two countries played against each other on Match 19, 2025. Prior to this meeting, Lesotho were 4th in the group with 5 points, whereas SA was 2nd with 7.
If we take a look at the head-to-head results, we can see that these two countries met a total of 9 times. South Africa has 3 victories, whereas Lesotho won 2 times. The other 4 games ended in a draw.
The last clash between the two took place on January 10, 2024, and it ended in a draw. Considering the most recent results from both countries, however, it is no surprise that most bookmakers and players believe that South Africa will be victorious. And they were correct, Bafana Bafana managed to win over Lesotho with their game ending 2-0 in favor of the South African team.
Benin vs South Africa – March 25, 2025
The second match in 2025 for the South African national football team in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was against Benin. This was a very important clash because Benin was just below South Africa in the group with 7 points.
Interestingly, these two nations had only met once thus far, and South Africa won the match. The clash took place in 2023, and South Africa defeated its opponents with a score of 2:1. What’s interesting is that the two teams played at the previous FIFA World Cup Qualifications.
Both football powerhouses have had good results so far, so the potential outcome of this match was tough to predict. With that said, this was among one of the most intriguing matches in the group because both teams had equal chances of securing a spot in the World Cup.
The match ended in a loss for Benin and a score of 0-2 in favor of South Africa.
Lesotho vs South Africa – September 5, 2025
Following their first meeting in March, Lesotho and South Africa played for the second time at these World Cup qualifiers. This time, however, the two teams met in September, and the clash was incredibly important.
Bafana Bafana asserted their dominance over Lesotho with a 3-0 victory. Lesotho, on the other hand, were unable to break through the South African defense and failed to score a goal.
South Africa vs Nigeria – September 9, 2025
One of the most anticipated football matches for the South African national team was the one against Nigeria. Even though the latter is not in its best form right now, Nigeria is one of Africa’s top football nations. Therefore, this was definitely a clash that’s worth following.
Prior to this match, Nigeria were 3rd in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Group C with 10 points after 2 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss. However, things could change very quickly if Nigeria steps up its game.
These two teams played 13 matches against each other thus far. Nigeria has 6 wins, and 6 matches ended in a draw, meaning that SA only won one match until this point. Needless to say, this makes Nigeria the heavy favorite in this clash.
The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Troost-Ekong scoring an own goal to give South Africa the lead. However, Bassey found the net for Nigeria, securing the draw and a point for both teams.
Zimbabwe vs South Africa – October 6, 2025
The second-last last match for South Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifications is with Zimbabwe. The latter is last in Group C with only 4 points (at the time of writing this) and has already been eliminated, which gives South Africa a good chance to win the match.
In terms of the head-to-head results, the two teams played 9 times against each other. Interestingly, both teams have two victories against each other, and the remaining 7 series ended in a draw.
South Africa vs Rwanda – October 13, 2025
South Africa will again face Rwanda in their much-anticipated final World Cup Qualifiers match, but this time on home soil.
Rwanda currently sit in the 4th position in the standings with 11 points – the same number of points as Nigeria, who take 3rd place. The total of 11 points for Rwanda comes from their 8 played matches with 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
The first time both teams faced each other on November 21, 2023, Rwandans came out victorious with the match ending 2-0 in favour of Rwanda.
Without a doubt, this clash will be fierce, as Rwandans still have a chance to place 2nd in the group, while Bafana Bafana are fighting to keep their lead position in the CAF Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Conclusion
Overall, South Africa is in a strong position to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The country achieved good results so far, and considering its opponents, it has excellent chances of advancing to the event’s next stage. We will keep an eye on the country’s results to see what’s going to happen.
