South Africa and Rwanda will conclude their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they square off on Tuesday (October 14th). The game will be played at the Mbombela Stadium.
The home side will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing draw against Zimbabwe last Friday. The game was offically an away game but Bafana Bafana were technically the hosts as the game was played in Durban. The Warriors were reduced to 10 men when Knowledge Musona was sent off for two bookable offenses in the 63rd minute but South Africa did not capitalize.
Rwanda, meanwhile, fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Benin Republic. Lorient forward Ayegun Tosin scored the match-winner in the 80th minute to officially end The Wasps' hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.
The loss left them in fourth spot in Group C, having garnered 11 points from nine games. South Africa are second on 15 points.
South Africa vs Rwanda Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Rwanda claimed a 2-0 home win in the reverse fixture in November 2023. That is the sole meeting between the two sides.
- Rwanda's last seven games have produced fewer than three goals, with six games seeing one side fail to find the back of the net.
- South Africa climbed one spot to 55th place in the latest FIFA World Rankings. Rwanda remained in 127th place.
- South Africa have not qualifed for the World Cup since 2002 (outside of their automatic qualification as hosts in 2010).
- Rwanda have won just one of their last seven games (five losses).
South Africa vs Rwanda Prediction
South Africa were flying high in their quest for a maiden World Cup appearance since 2010. Hugo Broos' side seemingly had the ticket in the bag but a combination of factors in the last few weeks has seen their grip on the ticket slip. The points deduction for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho made things difficult, but their draw with Zimbabwe means they no longer have their fate in their hands. Bafana Bafana need to win here while hoping Nigeria do them a favor against Benin.
Rwanda have nothing left to play for in the group but will relish playing the role of spoilers.
The high stakes involved means South Africa cannot afford to slip up and they should do enough to claim a routine win and clean sheet.
Prediction: South Africa 2-0 Rwanda
South Africa vs Rwanda Betting Tips
Tip 1 - South Africa to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score: No
Tip 3 - Under 2.5 goals
Why did you not like this content?
- Clickbait / Misleading
- Factually Incorrect
- Hateful or Abusive
- Baseless Opinion
- Too Many Ads
- Other
Was this article helpful?
Thank You for feedback
About the author
Edited by Peter P