Bafana face test of their credentials against Malawi

South Africa lost 1-0 in their first leg clash at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe last week with Zeliat Nkhoma scoring the only goal of the game in the 87th minute.

The two sides do duty again at Loftus on Sunday, where the home side will look to qualify for the tournament set to be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 2 to 30 August 2025.

In response to the loss, Bafana boss Molefi Ntseki drafted in six new players, namely Neo Maema, Ndumulelo Maphangule, Victor Letsoalo, Siyanda Msani, Simon Ramabu and Kamogelo Sebelebele.

"I think the first one was us playing the game we played in Malawi and the plan was to get a goal and not to concede. Unfortunately, we struggled with the game management,” the head coach told the South African Football Association website.

"Obviously, when you have players that are not playing regularly in their teams and some of them without teams, we ended up conceding that odd goal in the last three minutes of the game. But that did not make us feel bad about the team. We came out of that game with the best lessons that we needed to take into the next game.

“The teams responded very positive because they ended up sending six of the players that we needed in camp," he said.

Football Association President of Malawi Fleetwood Haiya, meanwhile, explained that the pressure is on South Africa to get a result.

He said on Africa Top Sports: "This is not just another fixture, it's a defining moment in Malawi's football resurgence. With a one-goal advantage, the psychological and moral support from the disapora could make all the difference.

"We've won the first half. Now we prepare to go and finish the job in South Africa.

“There's no pressure on us - they're the ones under pressure. Beating South Africa is motivation enough for our players.”