Zimbabwe captain Marshall Munetsi says his club teammate, Arokodare Toluwalase Emmanuel, has been teasing him during training at Wolves following Bafana Bafana’s three-point deduction — urging him to “do them a favour” in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Hugo Broos’ side suffered a major blow to their qualification hopes after FIFA docked them three points for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in their March qualifier against Lesotho.
Mokoena had accumulated two yellow cards, triggering an automatic one-match suspension. However, the South African Football Association (SAFA) failed to act on it. As a result, FIFA awarded the match 3-0 to Lesotho and deducted three points from South Africa.
The sanction dropped Bafana Bafana from first to second place in Group C, with Benin moving top on 14 points — the same number as South Africa — but with a superior goal difference ahead of Friday’s matches.
Munetsi ultimately did his teammate Emmanuel a favour, as Zimbabwe held Bafana Bafana to a frustrating goalless draw at the packed Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.
Meanwhile, Nigeria boosted their qualification hopes with a 2-1 victory over Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium, while Benin cemented their top spot by beating Rwanda in Kigali to move to 17 points — two ahead of Bafana.
This means Benin, South Africa, and Nigeria all remain in contention to qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup finals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico heading into the final round of matches on Tuesday.
Bafana Bafana will need to beat Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium and hope Nigeria defeat Benin in Uyo to finish top of Group C.
A draw between Nigeria and Benin could also be enough for Bafana, provided they beat Rwanda by at least two goals.
“I have a teammate from Nigeria, and as soon as he saw that South Africa had been deducted three points, he started teasing me at training,” said Munetsi.
“I think it’s exciting — everyone is watching to see how the group will end. South Africa have been doing very well since the last AFCON, showing great progress.
“For us, we’re just here to enjoy the game and build towards AFCON, while the other teams are under more pressure. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the final round.”
Zimbabwe, already out of contention for World Cup qualification, will complete their campaign against Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday.
In the African qualifiers, only group winners automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup, while the four best runners-up will advance to a play-off round for a second chance to reach the finals.
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