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The job of Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki is on the line after the national team failed to qualify for next year’s African Cup of Nations on Sunday.
The South Africans will not face the continent’s top national teams in Cameroon next year after heading to Sudan at Khartoum’s Al Hilal Stadium in a result that will have astonished the nation’s soccer fans.
The beleaguered Ntseki is now staring down the barrel of a loaded gun after Sudan beat his mediocre charges 2-0 to reserve his place in the Nations Cup for the first time in nearly a decade.
Bafana needed a win or draw to secure a passage to the Nations Cup, but their bet fell apart as early as the third minute, when Saifeldin Maki put the hosts ahead.
Sudan had won a free kick and after the ball floated into the area, Maki rose above the rear of the Bafana looking at the ball to beat goalkeeper Ronwen Williams with his header.
Perhaps Thursday’s painstaking 1-1 draw against Ghana at home should have been an indication of things to come in Sudan, as Bafana had to come back to regain some of the loot at the FNB Stadium.
The visitors were always on the defensive after that initial Maki setback and as they desperately sought the tie, it always looked like they were going to concede a second as they kept pushing the men forward.
Bafana came close to finally getting the elusive draw on numerous occasions, especially when Percy Tau came close to beating Sudan goalkeeper Ali Abdalla Aboeshren midway through the first half.
The home team defended bravely as Bafana continued to besiege their goal area and when the defenders were raped, the visitors found Aboeshren in an uncompromising frame of mind.
The best chance of the half fell to captain Thulani Hlatshwayo and, just when he thought he had finally beaten the stubborn Aboeshren, the wood prevented the ball from entering the back of the net.
Hlatshwayo watched in anguish as the ball hit the crossbar, indicating the cruel nature of the sport: the Bafana were punished at the other end of the field moments later.
Mohamed Abdel Rahman Yousif extinguished the Bafana flame as Sudan’s lead increased in the 32nd minute.
Sudan managed to maintain its lead until the half-time break and picked up where it left off when play resumed in the second period.
They bravely defended themselves and as the period progressed it was clear that they had been instructed to close the shop next to their bank.
Bafana tried to find the priceless goal that would have brought them back into the game, but Aboeshren held firm on the goal.
Sudan grew in confidence in recent weeks after beating favorites Ghana at home and the minnows of the Sao Tome and Principe group. They completed their fairy tale when they qualified for the Nations Cup, stopping the Bafana in the process.
They imagined their chances at home before the decisive match and were encouraged after fears over Covid-19 blocked Bafana’s attempts to secure Scottish Rangers’ Bongani Zungu, Montpellier’s Keagan Dolly, England’s Dean Furman and Carlisle’s Dean Furman. Thulani Serero from Abu Dhabi.
Ntseki now faces an uncertain future and his South African Football Association employers are likely to force him to step on the table, though they should also come under scrutiny after the ignominy of not qualifying for Cameroon.
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