Durban ready for Bafana vs Cameroon clash

South Africa and Cameroon will renew their rivalry when they meet in two 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later this month.

The Indomitable Lions come into the game as leaders of Group M and the clear favourites to claim victory over a Bafana Bafana side which has taken just one point from their opening two qualifiers. They will probably need to claim two wins from this pair of matches in order to have a realistic shot of qualifying for the 2017 AFCON.

Yet Cameroon have proven to be kind opponents for SA, who have suffered just one defeat against the West Africans from six previous matches.

The Indomitable Lions will always have a special place in South African football history, as they were the country’s first opponents after the return from international isolation in 1992.

The teams met in three friendlies – in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg – in the space of five days in July of that year, with each team claiming one victory, while one match ended in a draw.

The most famous meeting between the teams arrived in January 1996 when Bafana Bafana claimed a storming 3-0 victory in Johannesburg in the group stage of the AFCON – goals from Phil Masinga, Mark Williams and the late John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu took Clive Barker’s side to a victory which set them on the path to continental glory.

The teams’ most recent encounter was the better part of a decade ago, as they clashed in a friendly in Rustenburg in November 2008 which was won 3-2 by Bafana. Teko Modise scored two goals to inspire SA to a victory in that year’s Nelson Mandela Challenge.

While Bafana Bafana might enjoy a strong record against Cameroon, the one rider to consider is that all six matches have been held on South African soil.

When Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba’s side turn out in Limbe on March 26 for the first of two back-to-back matches between the teams, it will be Bafana’s first away match against Cameroon. The return game will be played in Durban three days later.

SA v Cameroon:

Matches played: 6

SA wins: 3

Cameroon wins: 1

Draws: 2

SA goals: 11

Cameroon goals: 7