By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa have secured back-to-back Afcon qualification, after hosts South Sudan beat Congo 3-2 in their Group K qualifier on Thursday.
Congo and South Sudan were locked at 2-2 in a game where the visitors held the lead twice at Juba Stadium until Elly Data’s 84th-minute strike earned the home side their first points of the campaign.
With the win, South Sudan moved to three points with one match left to play, while Congo remained on four after the same number of games.
It means that Uganda on 10 points, and South Africa on eight, both with two games left have both qualified for Afcon.
Congo needed to beat Sudan in order to stand a chance of qualification. The Sudanese are already out of the running despite their impressive win.
Bafana Bafana clash with Uganda in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Group K penultimate match at Mandela National Stadium on Friday.