What a mixed bag of emotions Bafana Bafana proved to be this year.
There they were - exactly 12 months ago - getting ready to take on the rest of the continent at the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea after qualifying unbeaten for the tournament in a new era under coach Shakes Mashaba.
The toast of the town, they were, getting a hero’s send-off despite being in what was considered to be the group of death, which included the No 1 ranked Algeria, Ghana and Senegal.
While they were gutsy and looked good when in possession, Bafana lived up to their reputation of botching it up when it mattered most.
In 2015, the senior men’s national team took part in a total of three tournaments (four, if you think the African Nations Championship is a serious competition), albeit some of them currently in the qualification phase for the tournament proper.
Just in case everything is suddenly a bit of a blur after the Christmas pudding, here’s a recap:
Africa Cup of Nations
No win in three of their group stage matches despite scoring first in all of them.
That was Bafana’s sorry tale in Equatorial Guinea in January, with Mashaba’s bizarre goalkeeper rotation policy only a fraction of what really went wrong in the sleepy village of Mongomo, the national team base. They had arrived there as group winners to book a place for the continental showpiece, but looked a shadow of that fearless team, with Mashaba losing the backing of many who had been wowed by his whimsical nature when selecting the team.
Why were the overseas-based contingent overlooked for African’s premier national team competition when powerhouses and eventual winners Ivory Coast relied on theirs - among them Yaya Toure and Wilfred Bony - to secure the gold medals? Why was Mashaba still experimenting? Questions the coach never really provided answers to.
2017 qualifiers
The start to this edition has been in complete contrast to Mashaba’s first few weeks on the job. Then, Bafana were responsible for turning reigning champions Nigeria into chumps when they prevented the Super Eagles from being able to defend their trophy, finishing above them in the group stages.
Now, Mashaba and his men would have to walk on water to get a spot in Gabon having dropped valuable points against low ranked sides Gambia and Mauritania.
Bafana are currently rooted to the foot of the table following a goalless draw at home against Gambia in June. During a trip that has definitely hurt Mashaba’s status as coach and made qualifying near impossible, Bafana were walloped 3-1 by Mauritania (jaw-dropping stuff, really) away in Nouakchott three months ago.
Add Cameroon, who complete Group M of this qualifying process, to the equation and the odds are heavily stacked against Mashaba with four games remaining.
World Cup 2018 qualifiers
As far as Fifa World Cup qualification goes, maybe there’s something to smile about. It all still hinges on who South Africa will be pitted against in the group stages in their bid to reach Russia in 2018.
Bafana beat Angola 4-1 on aggregate in the second round of their qualification stage to throw their name in the hat alongside 19 national teams all hoping to be one of Africa’s five representatives at the World Cup.
We all have to wait a little while longer, the Confederations of African Football (CAF) having announced that the draw for the group stages will take place on June 24 at their headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
Bafana are in danger of not being able to avoid the continent’s big guns because of their declining Fifa rankings, meaning they might not be seeded. Currently in 75th place, they are they are the fourth lowest ranked side in that list of 20 teams waiting to learn who they will face in the group stages next year.
South Africa failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil under then coach Gordon Igesund, who was replaced by Mashaba last year.– The Star