Ronwen Williams, Hugo Broos underscore importance of Bafana Bafana vs Benin

As the battle for the nine direct spots to the 2026 showpiece intensifies, a top-of-the-table clash at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium at 18:00 (SA Time) could have a massive impact on how things shape up heading into the final two qualifying windows later this year.

A win against Benin will see Bafana retain some distance between themselves and the chasing pack, which includes Rwanda and Nigeria, and Williams says consolidating their place is paramount.

"We know how important this game is for the group – we know that we can open a gap, and we know that our gap can be closed as well, so this is a big, big, big game in these qualifying rounds," said Williams.

"It's obviously the halfway mark now and after today you'll have an idea as to who the favourites are in the groups, so we want to be there and we want to stay on top of the group."

Playing simultaneously will be Nigeria and Zimbabwe, with the Super Eagles of the belief they are back in the race after beating Rwanda last Thursday, and they will be hoping the South Africans stumble against The Cheetahs. 

Coach Hugo Broos says this could be one of the most important match-days of Group C.

"We are confident in ourselves, I think, if you look at South Africa's progression in the last year, it's enormous, so we are confident and we think, we can get a good result [against Benin], we will try to win that game," he added.

"As I said before, this match-day can be a key day – imagine we win, Benin will be five points [behind], Nigeria are already four points [behind], so we will see what happens in the other games.

"So it can be a key day, and we will do everything to win that game today, but we know it will also be very difficult."

READ: Tau on Hugo Broos’ impressive Bafana Bafana record