South African midfielder Mohau Nkota is confident Bafana Bafana can get a positive result against the Super Eagles of Nigeria when both teams clash in their all-important 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match at the Free State Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, Footynaija.com reports.
Both teams will be going all out for the three points on Tuesday. South Africa, on 16 points, need a win to confirm their qualification for the upcoming Mundial while Nigeria, on 10 points, must cut the current six points gap between the pair down to three if they are to keep their hopes to avoid consecutive absences at the World Cup alive.
The seventh round of qualifying fixtures saw Bafana Bafana dispatch Lesotho 3-0 to stay on track in their quest to finish top of Group C and grab themselves a World Cup ticket. Meanwhile, the Super Eagles edged out Rwanda 1-0 to just about keep themselves in the race for qualification.
Speaking ahead of the game, Nkota, who grabbed the first of South Africa’s three goals against Lesotho, acknowledged the potential difficulty in taking on the Super Eagles but expressed confidence in Bafana Bafana’s ability to get the needed result.
Mahou Nkota says South Africa will be ready
“We just have to continue where we left off against Lesotho. We must go all out for the three points to open the gap at the top and if we don’t get the win, we will take a draw and move on,” he said in quotes revealed by Times Live.
“We did what we had to do against Lesotho and that has got us closer to realising our dream of going to the World Cup.
“It is going to be a difficult but exciting game against Nigeria because they have a lot of quality players in their squad. We are ready for the fight.
“It is never easy against them because they are a talented team and we will be ready on Tuesday. It is all about teamwork — if we work together as a team we can succeed against them.”
This game is make or break for the Super Eagles and they cannot afford to drop points at this stage. It promises to be a highly entertaining clash against a South Africa side that will be eager to confirm their first qualification for the World Cup in over two decades.
