Overview
- South Africa were held to a goalless draw by 10-man Zimbabwe at Moses Mabhida Stadium, hitting the woodwork and seeing a late Lyle Foster effort cleared off the line.
- With Benin beating Rwanda 1-0 and Nigeria defeating Lesotho 2-1, Benin lead Group C on 17 points with South Africa on 15 and Nigeria close behind.
- Bafana now need to beat Rwanda in Mbombela and require Nigeria to overcome Benin to seal automatic qualification.
- If Benin avoid defeat, South Africa would be left chasing permutations for a runners-up play-off route, which means their fate is no longer entirely their own.
- FIFA docked South Africa three points for fielding ineligible midfielder Teboho Mokoena in March against Lesotho, a sanction SAFA intends to challenge through the appeals process.