South Africa Overcome Zimbabwe to Move Three Points Clear of Ghana in Qualifiers

• South Africa took on neighbours Zimbabwe in a World Cup qualifiers tie in Johannesburg on Thursday
• The hosts scored the only goal of the match to remain top of the standings in Group G ahead of Ghana
• Bafana Bafana will now travel to face Ghana in the Central Region on Sunday as they look to seal qualification

Bafana Bafana took an important step towards qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar following a 1-0 triumph over Zimbabwe at the FNB Stadium on Thursday evening.

The win extended South Arica's lead at the top of Group G to three points over Ghana, who were held to a 1-all draw by Ethiopia in their earlier encounter at the nearby Orlando Stadium.

The home side, which had three changes from their previous outing in the form of Keagan Dolly, Thibang Phete, and Percy Tau, made a comfortable start to the encounter, according to KickOff.

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Zimbabwe looked to find purchase in the game when in the 15th minute the Warriors' only change, Ishmael Wadi, nearly went through on goal inside the danger area but blasted inches wide of the target.

Sweeping Zim's wasted efforts aside, Bafana opened the scoring five minutes before the half-hour mark when a perfectly-timed cross from Dolly found Teboho Mokoena, whose whirring header neatly guided the ball into the back of the net.

The visitors pushed their numbers forward to try to disrupt the scorers in the latter periods but were met by a sturdy defence as Hugo Broos' men rallied to keep the advances at bay.

Chances to go further ahead

Norman Mapeza's troops came out looking ominous at the start of the second stanza, but Bafana was up to the task as Dolly nearly doubled the hosts' lead as the half reached the latent stages.

However, goalkeeper Petros Mhari warded off his curling strike, and with full-time approaching, Bafana enjoyed numerous openings that could have easily ensured a higher goal difference for the home side.

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In the end, Mokoena's first-half goal was enough to seal the win and send Bafana three points clear at the top of the standings, Soccer Laduma reported.

South Africa will now travel to face Ghana at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium in the Central Region on Sunday as the battle for advancement rages on.

"Feel It": Mzansi backs Bafana Bafana to beat Zimbabwe

Ahead of the game on Thursday, Briefly News reported that South Africans were confident that Bafana could bag a convincing victory over Zimbabwe at FNB Stadium.

The two southern African nations renewed their rivalry in a penultimate 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers match, with Bafana looking for nothing but a win.

Taking a glance at social media comments, many soccer fans felt the team coached by Hugo Broos has what it takes to secure a victory.

Briefly News took a look at the positive reactions from netizens ahead of the encounter.

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The Belgian manager Hugo Broos also received praise for calling up quality and experienced players such as Percy Tau and Keagan Dolly.

With the Warriors already out of the race to finish as number one, many still warned Bafana against complacency.