Themba Zwane of South Africa challenged by Aprocius Megameno Petrus of Namibia during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Finals match between South Africa and Namibia at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo on 21 January 2024 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix 
Bafana Bafana came into the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations as a team that not many were intent on paying attention to — including some South African citizens.
They are not Morocco, who are ranked No 1 in the world and made history in 2022 by becoming the first African nation to reach the semifinals of the Fifa World Cup.
Neither are the South Africans Senegal, who boast a whole host of star players and are also the reigning African champions.
They are not Ivory Coast, who, with the support of their passionate home support, were seen as a country that would play a major part in the tournament.
They are not star-studded Nigeria or Ghana. Neither are they record African champions Egypt. All the aforementioned heavyweights went into the tournament carrying the heavy weight of expectation.
Not Bafana Bafana though. They have not been part of the World Cup tournament since hosting in 2010.
As for their presence at the biennial Afcon showpiece? It might as well be something that is decided by a coin toss. A toss they have generally been on the losing side of in recent years.
When they missed out on travelling to Cameroon for the 2021 edition, it marked the fourth time in 11 years that Bafana had missed Africa’s football extravaganza. Before that disappointment, they failed to qualify in 2010, 2012 and 2017.
Even at the beginning of this Afcon, the tournament’s all-time top scorer Samuel Eto’o questioned why Bafana either battle to qualify for the showpiece, or are found wanting when they do qualify.
“I am baffled as to why Bafana Bafana have constantly underperformed at the Africa Cup of Nations. The South African league is well organised and one of the best in Africa so I do not understand why the national team is not that good,” Eto’o told AFP.
Samuel Eto’o, President of the Cameroonian Football Federation. (Photo: Lenoir Records / BackpagePix)
“Football officials need to sit down and plan how to take Bafana to another level and make it the best national team in Africa. Given the strength of the national league, that is possible.”
Such talk is why the South Africans went to Ivory Coast outside of the conversation of teams that would make a splash in Ivory Coast. Some even doubted whether they would make it out of Group E — a mini league containing two strong nations.
Mali have not missed an Afcon tournament since 2002 and Tunisia only failed to make it beyond the group phase back in 2013, when South Africa hosted.
The Eagles of Mali lived up to their status as an influential nation on the Afcon stage when they beat Bafana Bafana 2-0 in the pair’s opening Group E encounter.
However, that was largely due to South Africa’s inability to capitalise on the chances that came their way before the Malians showed them how to do it.
Themba Zwane of South Africa challenged by Aprocius Megameno Petrus of Namibia during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Finals match between South Africa and Namibia at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo on 21 January 2024. (Photo: Samuel Shivambu / BackpagePix)
Then they bounced back with an emphatic 4-0 over Namibia to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds alive and in their own hands, as opposed to relying on favourable results elsewhere.
This was the case in 2019 when they snuck into the knockout stage after finishing as one of the four best third-placed teams. Then they knocked out hosts Egypt, before falling at the quarterfinal stage.
Against Tunisia on Wednesday, the team has an opportunity to emerge from the depths of being underdogs like a submarine surfacing in enemy territory.
A win versus the Eagles of Carthage will send a clear message to the other teams that will make it into the round of 16 and that Hugo Broos and his men are not at Afcon to merely make up the numbers — especially when countries such as four-time African champions Ghana have already been shown the door.
The tournament’s hosts, Ivory Coast, are also on the brink of being eliminated following a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Equatorial Guinea. Having played all their games in Group A, they are third, with only three points.
The Elephants still have an opportunity to squeeze into the second round as one of the four third-placed best finishers, although the minus-three goal difference makes it highly unlikely.
Unlike the Ivorians, Broos and his troops have a great opportunity to progress to the second round. Especially if they can emulate Namibia and shoot down the Eagles of Carthage. Even a draw will do for the South Africans. DM
South Africa and Tunisia play on Wednesday, 24 January. Kickoff is at 7pm SA time.