After opening their African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a home victory over Guinea, South Africa travel to Egypt to face Eritrea at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo on Wednesday. We take a closer look at the match from a betting angle.
Group D Standings
South Africa currently top Group D following their victory over Guinea. Eritrea and Kenya sit behind them with one point apiece, while Guinea are at the bottom of the standings after the opening round.
This group has a fairly unique qualification situation. Kenya have already qualified for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations as co-hosts but are still competing in the group as part of their preparation for the tournament.
Only the highest-placed team from South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea will join Kenya at the finals, making every match of paramount importance.
South Africa
South Africa opened their campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Guinea.
Defender Ime Okon gave Bafana Bafana the lead on the half-hour mark before Seydouba Cissé equalised for Guinea in the 69th minute. South Africa eventually secured the three points through another defender, Samukele Kabini, who scored the winning goal in the 77th minute.
The brief for South Africa is simple: they need to keep winning, with the qualification battle potentially coming down to the reverse fixture away to Guinea.
The match against Guinea was South Africa’s first competitive action since they were eliminated by Canada in the round of 32 at the World Cup in June.
Eritrea
Eritrea started as 8.00 underdogs away to Kenya in their opening match but came away with a creditable 1-1 draw.
Nahom Netabay gave the Red Sea Camels the lead in the first half, and they were within minutes of securing a famous victory before Kenya equalised in the 87th minute.
It remains to be seen whether that performance was a sign of genuine improvement under new coach Hesham Yakan. The Egyptian will be very much at home in Cairo, having represented his country as a player and spent much of his career with Zamalek.
Eritrea do not currently have a stadium that meets international requirements, which is why this match is being played at the neutral Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo.
This fixture should provide a much clearer indication of whether Eritrea can genuinely challenge South Africa and Guinea for the available qualification place.
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Betting – Click Here to Bet
Eritrea 18.00
Draw 8.00
South Africa 1.14
Verdict
The bookmakers clearly believe Eritrea’s draw in Kenya may have flattered them, with South Africa priced as overwhelming favourites for this encounter.
Given that only one team other than Kenya will qualify from Group D, South Africa will be looking not only to collect three points but also to improve their goal difference.
Eritrea demonstrated in Nairobi that they can be difficult to break down and may frustrate Bafana Bafana during the early stages. South Africa should nevertheless have far too much quality as the game progresses.
The straight South Africa win offers little value at 1.14. I prefer the Asian handicap, where Bafana Bafana must win by at least three goals for the bet to collect. I am also going to have a nibble on the correct score being 3-0 to South Africa.
BET: Asian Handicap – South Africa −2.5 Goals at 2.05
BET: Correct-Score Option Eritrea 0-3 South Africa at 7.00
Note: All prices are correct at the time of writing but subject to change.
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