Bafana Bafana will open their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign against Benin on Saturday afternoon at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Teams: South Africa v Benin
Date: 18 November 2023
Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium
Time: 15:00
Bafana qualified for next year's Africa Cup of Nations back in June this year and have been playing friendly international matches since then, where they have been unbeaten after a 1-1 draw against AFCON hosts Ivory Coast last month.
Hugo Broos' charges have a rare chance of topping Group C after the first round of matches, after Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by Lesotho and Zimbabwe were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda in the same group.
Benin, meanwhile, did not qualify for next year's AFCON tournament after finishing third in their group, behind leaders Senegal and Mozambique.
Gernot Rohr's men, ranked 93rd by FIFA, are winless in their last four overall matches after they lost 2-1 to Madagascar in a friendly international last month.
The sides have met only once before, in the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia, where Bafana beat the Cheetahs 2-0 thanks to a brace by Siyabonga Nomvethe in the group stages.
Here's how they line up:
South Africa: Williams, Mudau, Xulu, Mvala, Modiba, Mokoena, Sithole, Zwane, Hlongwane, Tau, Makgopa
Subs: Goss, Mothwa, Mobbie, Sibisi, Cross, Adams, Lepasa, Kekana, Mthethwa, Xoki, Appollis, Mokwana, Mayambela
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