WATCH | Slick Bafana secure World Cup berth after 23 years!

Big dreams have turned into reality as Bafana Bafana qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup for the first time in 23 years following a dominant 3-0 win over Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday.

With Nigeria doing them a favour by thumping Group C leaders Benin 4-0 in the other match in Uyo, Bafana did their job as they needed to beat Rwanda to qualify and did that in style as they finished the group with 18 points to book their place in the tournament to be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico next year.

This is the first time Bafana have qualified for the World Cup since 2002 in South Korea and Japan. They played in 2010 as the hosts.

Goals by Thalenthe Mbatha, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa were enough to send Bafana through.

Bafana were left reeling on Friday after playing goalless with Zimbabwe, which derailed their ambitions and needed nothing but a win on Tuesday coupled with a Nigeria win over Benin in Uyo to qualify.

And Nigeria, who also had their chances of qualifying before the game, did beat Benin, who were leading Bafana with two points heading into the final round of matches.

Bafana coach Hugo Broos made four changes to his starting line-up, with Khulumani Ndamane coming in for the suspended Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Evidence Makgopa replacing injured Lyle Foster, Thapelo Morena coming in for Mohau Nkota and Mbatha coming in for Sphephelo Sithole.

Bafana got off to a perfect start when Mbatha opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a shot on the edge of the area to give them a deserved lead.

It was one-way traffic with Bafana in control of the match, and came close to doubling their lead but Appollis and Teboho Mokoena could not convert their chances.

Appollis would then double Bafana’s lead before the half-hour mark after he received the ball from Makgopa, before he sent a superb first-time finish into the back of the net.

Bafana then suffered a blow in the first half when Morena was stretchered off and was substituted by Nkota.

But that didn’t affect Bafana as they continued with their dominance and could have been ahead by many goals had they been more clinical.

Knowing that Nigeria were leading after the interval, Bafana played with freedom and increased their lead when Makgopa headed in from Appollis’s corner, triggering countrywide celebrations as Broos’s team were confirmed as one of the nine representatives of Africa at next year’s tournament.

Sowetan