Khaberni - The South African national team qualified for the World Cup finals for the fourth time in its history by defeating its guest, the Rwanda national team, 3-0, in the last round of the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in America, Canada, and Mexico.
In the other match in the same group, the Nigerian national team defeated its guest, the Benin national team, 4-0.
The Bafana Bafana national team took sole lead of Group Three with 18 points from five wins, three draws, and two losses, surpassing the runner-up Nigeria by just one point, which achieved four wins, five draws, and one loss.
The South African national team clinched the victory in the first half, ending it ahead with two goals scored by Talent Mbata in the fifth minute and Oswen Regan Abolis in the 26th minute, and in the second half Evidens Macjoba scored the third goal in the 72nd minute.
In the other match, Victor Osimhen, the Galatasaray striker, played the hero role and scored three goals (a hat-trick) for the Nigerian national team in the 3rd, 37th, and 51st minutes, with Frank Onyeka scoring the fourth goal in the final seconds.
The South African national team participated in three previous editions of the World Cup, the first being in the 1998 World Cup in France, where the team lost to France by three goals to none in their opening match, then drew with Denmark and Saudi Arabia, and took third place, thus exiting the tournament.
The Boys' Team recorded its second participation in the World Cup through the Korea and Japan 2002 edition, but it also exited from the group stages after losing to Spain 2-3 and despite drawing with Paraguay and defeating Slovenia 1-0, recording their first-ever victory in the World Cup, where they placed third in their group, trailing Paraguay by goal difference.
The South African national team participated in the World Cup for the third time during the edition held on its soil in 2010, where it defeated France 2-1 and tied with Mexico 1-1, before losing 0-3 to Uruguay, failing to reach the knockout stages throughout its history, and South Africa then became the first host country to fail to advance past the group stage.
