Bafana Bafana can expect to face the full might of world champions France in their friendly in Lille on Tuesday night.
And if one compares the Friday night performances of both teams — France fought back to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 while SA played to a goalless draw against Guinea in nearby Belgium — it’s clear the hosts will have the major advantage in Lille (kick-off is at 9pm).
And then factor in Kylian Mbappé — one of the world’s best players, who was an unused sub against the West Africans because of an infection, will almost certainly get a run against SA.
Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante was also not available on Friday after he had to leave camp due to personal reasons, but French coach Didier Deschamps has been quoted in the media as saying the Paris Saint Germain star would be back in time for the SA clash.
What a stage for Bafana Bafana, who will be boosted by the availability of Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Fagrie Lakay and Goodman Mosele who were not considered for selection against Guinea.
SA have a good history against reigning world champions. In 2013 they defeated Spain 1-0 at the FNB stadium, with Bernard Parker scoring the only goal in that clash.
And in 1996 Bafana Bafana, then the African champions, went down 2-3 to Brazil in an exciting encounter at the same venue.
But those were on home soil.
The last time Bafana met France was during the 2010 World Cup and the hosts won 2-1
The last time Bafana met France was during the 2010 World Cup and the hosts won 2-1, their only victory against the French in four outings. Local fans would rather forget SA’s World Cup debut in 1998, losing 3-0 to hosts France.
Tuesday is going to be tough.
Deschamps, like Bafana mentor Hugo Broos, has faced controversy over his selection, although for opposite reasons.
Deschamps’ decision to recall 35-year-old Olivier Giroud back to the national team drew a lot of flak.
However, Giroud — France’s second-highest all-time scorer with 47 goals from 111 appearances — after Thierry Henry (51 in 113), proved his critics and those of the coach wrong when he scored in the 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast.
Giroud was called into the team as a replacement for the injured Real Madrid star, Karim Benzema.
Broos copped criticism for not selecting the on-form Mamelodi Sundowns duo of Andile Jali (31) and Themba Zwane (32) because they were too old for the vision he has for the SA national team.
Bafana will need to convert the multitude of chances they missed in their goalless draw against Guinea in Belgium on Friday night.
Bafana delivered a performance that Broos found pleasing, but still, they will have to put away the chances they missed against Guinea, a team that made the last 16 at the African Nations’ Cup in Cameroon this year.
SA created numerous clear-cut chances, but players such as the Belgian-based Lyle Foster, Keagan Dolly and Thabang Monare seemed to have forgotten their scoring boots.
The French are using the matches against the African countries as part of their final preparation for the Fifa World Cup
“We gave a good performance, we asked for that from the players because in these friendly games the results are not so important even though we would love to win, but it’s okay because I think my team played a very good game,” Broos said.
“We had six or seven chances, so if there was a team to win the game it was South Africa. We had a little problem with the tall guys of Guinea when it came to aerial duels, but on the football level, I think we played a very good game and I’m very happy with the performance,” Broos said.
Guinea coach Kaba Diaware offered the excuse that his team assembled late, and he only had two days to work with most of them before the Bafana meeting in Belgium.
Apart from that, Guinea also missed a few players, including Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita, to injuries. “We are also happy because of the result; we tried to win, and we had some good chances to score,” said Diaware.
“We faced a good South African team, but we didn’t have enough time to prepare for the match. We also had a lot of injuries, including a massive player for us, so we are happy to play a draw against South Africa.”
The French are using the matches against the African countries as part of their final preparation for their mission to try and defend their title at the Fifa World Cup in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah’s Egypt are one match away from qualifying for the World Cup after they got the better of African champions Senegal in the first leg on Friday night.
Egypt, who lost to Senegal in the Afcon final early this year, won 1-0 at home and they will face off again in the second leg on Tuesday in Dakar.
In the other World Cup qualifiers, DR Congo played to a 1-1 draw with Morocco, while Mali lost 1-0 to Tunisia.
After their poor performance in the Afcon, Algeria managed to beat Cameroon 1-0 while Nigeria and Ghana played to a goalless draw.
All the second leg fixtures take place on Tuesday.
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