Dylan Bettencourt
Ngemuva kokuqhathwa kwe-Africa Cup of Nations (i-Afcon) ngoLwesibili, amathuba eBafana Bafana okuhlungela abukeka emaningi, kodwa kungaba ubulima ukuqinisekisa lokhu.
Iqembu lesizwe selingcono kakhulu ngaphansi komqeqeshi uHugo Broos futhi mhlawumbe kube nzima ngesinqumo sephenalthi esingesihle emdlalweni wabo ne-Ghana esilahlekisele ithuba lokuhlungela iNdebe yoMhlaba ye-Fifa.
Yize kunjalo, i-South African Football Association (i-Safa) yaqasha uBroos ukuthi alethe imidlalo yokuhlungela i-Afcon kanti leso sikhathi sesifikile.
Umcimbi wokuhlunga amaqembu azodlala emqhudelwaneni wango-2023 ububanjelwe eGoli ngoLwesibili ntambama lapho iBafana efakwe khona ku-group K.
IBafana iqhathwe ku-Group K ne-Morocco, i-Zimbabwe kanye ne-Liberia.
Kunamaqembu angu-12 namaqembu amabili aphezulu ahlomula indawo kwi-Afcon, ezosingathwa yi-Ivory Coast.
Ngenxa yokuthi iNingizimu Afrika isendaweni yesibili, amathuba okuthi iqembu lase-Afrika libesezingeni eliphezulu ebehlezi ekhona futhi afika ngendlela yase-Morocco.
IBafana izobe izethemba ngamathuba ayo okuhlungela iNdebe kodwa konke kuncike ekutheni izobhekana ne-Zimbabwe, uma izovunyelwa ukuqhudelana.
Enkundleni iBafana ne-Zimbabwe babekwe ngokulingana njengoba kubonisiwe emidlalweni yakamuva yokuhlungela iNdebe yoMhlaba lapho elakuleli liwine khona umdlalo wokuqala ngo 1-0. Umdlalo wesibili uphele zibambene ngo 0-0.
Kodwa-ke, ukuvinjelwa kwe-Zimbabwe kwakamuva i-Fifa ngenxa yokugxambukela kukahulumeni kungase kuholele ekutheni iqembu lisuswe emidlalweni yokuhlunga, kusale u-group K namaqembu amathathu kuphela.
Lokhu kungawandisa kakhulu amathuba eBafana okungena emidlalweni yokuhlunga kodwa njengoba abalandeli bebonile phambilini, asikho isiqiniseko uma kukhulunywa ngeNingizimu Afrika.
IBafana igcine ukudlala kwi-Afcon yango-2019 ebise-Egypt lapho eyakhishwa khona kuma-quarter final.
Njengoba uBroos ephethe izintambo kanti iqembu lentsha libukeka lithembisa, maningi amathuba okubona iBafana e-Ivory Coast.
Amanye amaqoqo ami kanje:
Ku-Group A: i-Nigeria, i-Sierra Leone, i-Guinea-Bissau, i-Sao Tome kanye ne-Principe noma i-Mauritius
Ku-Group B: i-Burkina Faso, i-Cape Verde, i-Togo kanye ne-Eswatini
Ku-Group C: i-Cameroon, i-Kenya, i-Namibia kanye ne-Burundi
Ku-Group D: i-Egypt, i-Guinea, i-Malawi kanye ne-Ethiopia
Ku-Group E: i-Ghana, i-Madagascar, i-Angola kanye ne-Central African Republic
Ku-Group F: i-Algeria, i-Uganda, i-Niger kanye ne-Tanzania
Ku-Group G: i-Mali, i-Congo Brazzaville, i-Gambia kanye ne-South Sudan
Ku-Group H: i-Ivory Coast (osokhaya), i-Zambia, i-Comoros kanye ne-Lesotho
Ku-Group I: i-Democratic Republic of Congo, i-Gabon, i-Mauritania kanye ne-Sudan
Ku-Group J: i-Tunisia, i-Equatorial Guinea, i-Libya kanye ne-Botswana
Ku-Group K: i-Morocco, iNingizimu Afrika, i-Zimbabwe kanye ne-Liberia
Ku-Group L: i-Senegal (abaphethe), i-Benin, i-Mozambique kanye ne-Rwanda
Umthombo wesithombe: @SoccerLaduma