This evening's match for Bafana Bafana promises to be one of the most entertaining judging by the interest shown by fans in the Free State in the build up.
Bafana are in Bloemfontein for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe aiming to climb toward a better position in the Group C standings.
Following Nigeria's loss to Benin yesterday, South African football fans are hoping for a Bafana win against Zimbabwe to get closer to qualification.
Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs supporter Masilo Machaka is in Bloemfontein, having also accompanied the team to Nigeria last week, and he details the difficult experience from their trip to Uyo, while also looking ahead to today's eagerly awaited clash for Hugo Broos' side.
The Good
"It is good to be back home for the next Bafana Bafana game after the bad experience we went through leading up to the previous game against Nigeria. As I am talking to you I am in Bloemfontein, having arrived back home yesterday in the early hours of the morning. I will go through everything to do with the bad experiences that we as the supporters and the Bafana Bafana team went through in Nigeria, but for now I've got to commend our boys for a great fighting spirit and courage despite being faced with the challenges they encountered. An advantage for us is that we have a number of players with Champions League experience and those are the players from Sundowns, mostly. It would be great for more PSL clubs to play in those top competitions so that we can have more players with that kind of experience available for our national team. Talking about this evening's game, we are hopeful that Bafana will get all the points as that will take us to a very good position, especially after Nigeria's loss to Benin. The most important thing is to qualify for the World Cup and this game against Zimbabwe is important for us to do well so that we can get closer to achieving our objectives. The weather is perfect in Bloemfontein for a great football match and the people of Free State have been going out in numbers to buy the tickets and it promises to be an electrifying atmosphere at the stadium," said Machaka.
The Bad
Terrible trip to Nigeria
"We left for Nigeria on Wednesday evening, and we followed as Bafana Bafana departed in their own flight. When we arrived in Lagos, it was during the time when Nigerian people were having a strike about their own issues. Whatever they were doing affected us and all the other airport passengers who were arriving there from the different countries. We had to wait for six hours in the airport in Lagos because there were no flights for us to proceed with our journey to Uyo. The challenge we had in South Africa before departing was that we couldn't book a direct flight to Uyo, it doesn't work like that. It is either you depart Mzansi for Abuja or Lagos and can then proceed from there to to your destination," he said.
The Ugly
"At some point while waiting in Lagos, we considered taking a bus to Uyo but we then changed our minds on realising that it would take us something like 13 hours to reach our destination. You must remember that Bafana Bafana were also delayed in the airport, which was not good for their preparations for the match. In the end, we were lucky to get the last flight to Port Harcourt. From there, we took a private car which took us about four hours to Uyo. The experience was very bad. You drive for a few hours and get stopped and all the passengers are ordered to get out of the car and have to follow the car on foot for something like 500 metres before getting back into the car again. It is a procedure that happens throughout the journey, and it can be so strenuous. In the end, we made it to the game, which is what was important," concluded Machaka.
What is your predicted starting line-up for Bafana?
