Bafana Bafana look to outrun the Zebras

South Africa will chase a win over Botswana when the teams meet for a Cosafa Cup Group A match at the Wolfson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Kick-off is at 3pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).

South Africa got their Cosafa campaign off to a slow start on Wednesday evening when they could only draw 1-1 with Mozambique at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Bafana Bafana opened the scoring via Rushwin Dortley and led 1-0 at the break, but the Mambas hit back 20 minutes into the second half via Chamito Alfandega to secure a share of the spoils.

It ends....... pic.twitter.com/2eDT7vsgrY

— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 26, 2024

South Africa coach Helman Mkhalele was satisfied with his team’s efforts, but hopes they can be more ruthless in terms of capitalising on scoring chances.

“I’m proud of my team and the performance they gave, even though we did not get the result we aspired to achieve,” said Mkhalele.

“During the first half we dominated, even though we created clear chances but could not take advantage of that situation.”

Bafana Bafana captain Rushwin Dortley wins the Player of the Match Award after scoring for his side and leading his charges in defence. @SouthernSunGrp, @SABC_Sport, @SuperSportTV, @SAFA_net#COSAFACup2024, #Hollywoodbets pic.twitter.com/kGqShUodTo

— COSAFA (@COSAFAMEDIA) June 26, 2024

Botswana, meanwhile, opened their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Eswatini, leaving all four teams in Group A tied on a point apiece.

The Zebras were indebted to goalkeeper Victor James, who put in a man of the match performance to help his side keep a clean sheet and will represent a major stumbling block to Bafana’s hopes of a first win.

In head-to-head stats, South Africa and Botswana have met in 19 matches dating back as far as 1993.

Bafana Bafana have claimed 15 wins compared to two for the Zebras, while a further two games have been drawn.

The teams last met in the 2023 edition of the Cosafa Cup, with SA winning 2-1 in Durban thanks to goals from Iqraam Rayners and Shaune Mogaila, after Botswana’s Thatayaone Kgamanyane had opened the scoring.

The other Group A match earlier on Saturday afternoon sees Mozambique face Eswatini at the Wolfson Stadium.