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South Africa has been handed a fair draw in the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Bafana Bafana will face neighbours Botswana, Central African Republic and one between Somali and Ethiopia. The draw was conducted at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday, 30 July 2011.
It was the first major World Cup event in Brazil since the South American nation was awarded the right to host the competition for the first time in 64 years.
Botswana has already qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, their first even qualification for the showpiece. They are top of Group 11 with 17 points, and have not lost any of their seven 2012 Afcon qualifiers – winning five and drawing two. Botswana is followed by Tunisia and Malawi on 10 points each. The Central African Republic is second in Group 4 of the Afcon qualifiers and level on seven points with Morocco. Tanzania is third with four points. In Group 2, Ethiopia is third with four points. They are behind Guinea and Nigeria who have ten and seven points respectively. Sudan is placed second in Group 9 level on 10 points each with Ghana who are top, third is Congo with three points. Somali has not entered the qualification process of the 2012 Afcon.
“It is a fair draw, but something we cannot take for granted. Botswana is a threat and their current form in the Afcon qualifiers is proof of that. As matters stand, they have qualified for Afcon 2012 which tells you something. The Central Africa Republic is a surprise package and if they go unchecked could course us a problem. They have also done well in their difficult Afcon group, and look almost certain to qualify. Ethiopia recently drew with Nigeria, so they can’t be taken lightly and could be a tough customer. I am happy with the draw and also confident that we can do well. Make no mistake though it’s not going to be easy because the level is higher here, so we have to double our efforts to make it to Brazil,” said Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane from Brazil where he was attending the draw.
The African teams were divided into 10 groups for qualifying matches beginning in November next year.
AFRICAN ZONE DRAW:
Group A: South Africa, Botswana, Central African Republic, Somalia or Ethiopia
Group B: Tunisia, Cape Verde Islands, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea or Madagascar
Group C: Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Gambia, Chad or Tanzania
Group D: Ghana, Zambia, Sudan, Lesotho or Burundi
Group E: Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, Sao Tome e Principe or Congo
Group F: Nigeria, Malawi, Seychelles or Kenya, Djibouti or Namibia
Group G: Egypt, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Comoros or Mozambique
Group H: Algeria, Mali, Benin, Eritrea or Rwanda
Group I: Cameroon, Libya, Guinea-Bissau or Togo, Swaziland or Congo DR
Group J: Senegal, Uganda, Angola, Mauritius or Liberia
