This is the match between two teams who lost their opening contests at Africa Cup of Nations. For both South Africa and Namibia this is the most important match of the entire tournament. They don’t have the luxury to lose yet another match here in Egypt. Also, a draw isn’t suitable for either of the sides, which guarantees one hell of a clash at Al Salam stadium in Cairo. Expect an intense and fierce battle which will no doubt produce many yellow cards, or even maybe red ones too.
Match Preview
After 12 games in which this team hasn’t lost in the regular 90 minutes, Stuart Baxter’s guys had to kneel down before Ivory Coast. In the game in which Bafana had more of ball possession, the final result was 1-0 for the Elephants. Though despite having the ball in their feet more than the rival, Sout Africa was less dangerous for the opponent’s goal. They had only two attempts, and neither of them went towards the goal. In the meantime, IC had 9, three were on the target, and one ended behind Williams’ back. Their back line is indeed an excellent one, but it seems that upfront this team doesn’t have too much flair. Or at least, it didn’t have in the opening round.
Namibia also suffered a minimal defeat in the first round. Their opponent was Morocco. But that loss was more painful than the one South Africa experienced. Why? Because they conceded a goal one minute before the end of the regular time. And to make it even worse it was an own goal by Keimuine. Ending like that certainly left some scars on their morale, and head coach Ricardo Mannetti will have a tough time recovering this crew from such a devastating blow. They don’t have some specific style of play, and this team often adjusts to the opponent. The same goes for efficiency; there isn’t any pattern on which we could rely upon when analyzing Namibia’s matches. Over the latest 10, five ended with under 2.5 goals, and five went above that limit. When looking at the names, they don’t have any big-time player. Many of them are coming from the South African teams, and they know the upcoming opponents very well. That will only make this encounter more interesting.
Head to Head
One of the worst nightmares for football fans in Namibia is South Africa. In the latest six encounters, from which the first one took place in 1998, Bafana won five, and one game ended with a draw. A little bit more than a year ago, in early June 2018, South Africa smashed this rival with 1:4.
Prediction
South Africa is the favorite, and we really expect them to win this one. But it won’t be a routine win, be sure in that. Namibia knows how to defend, and they won’t be an easy pray for Baxter’s boys. So all of you who are expecting to see some fireworks here, stay away from it. The odds on South Africa’s plain win are at 0.74, and that is something quite solid. Now, for our punters who like to bet a bit riskier, we have a proposal they just might love. South Africa to keep clean sheets. As we already mentioned, the defensive part of this team is excellent, while on the other side, Namibia struggles in the attack. At the moment, odds on that are 0.85. So feel free to explore both suggestions.
