Bafana Bafana landed in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday ahead of their crucial second Group A clash against Czech Republic on Thursday, knowing that anything less than a positive result could leave their Fifa World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.
Hugo Broos’ men arrived in the southern United States after opening their campaign with a disappointing 2-0 defeat to hosts Mexico in Los Angeles.
The result left South Africa bottom of the group after the first round of matches, with Czech Republic suffering a narrow 2-1 loss to South Korea. That means Thursday’s encounter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium has effectively become a must-win match for both nations.
A victory for Bafana would move them onto three points and place qualification for the knockout stages firmly back in their own hands ahead of their final group fixture against South Korea next week.
A draw would keep South Africa alive, but Broos’ side would likely need to beat Korea and hope other results fall in their favour.
Goal difference could also become a significant factor should teams finish level on points. Defeat, meanwhile, would leave Bafana facing an uphill battle to advance and potentially needing an unlikely combination of results elsewhere in the group.
The expanded 48-team World Cup format offers a slightly bigger safety net than previous editions, with the top two teams in each group progressing alongside some of the best third-placed finishers.
However, Broos has repeatedly stressed that relying on mathematics rather than performances is a dangerous game.
South Africa showed flashes of promise against Mexico but struggled to create enough clear-cut opportunities in the final third. The coach will be hoping his side can be more clinical against a Czech team equally desperate to get points on the board.
With Mexico and South Korea set to meet later on Thursday, the permutations remain open.
But the equation for Bafana need to secure a result in Atlanta and the dream of reaching the knockout stages remains alive; stumble again and the road to the last 32 becomes significantly more difficult.
Jehran Naidoo is sports reporter for Independent Media and social media coordinator of the our YouTube channel The Clutch
