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2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers
Group K, Matchday 4
Liberia v South Africa
Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium
Monrovia, Liberia
Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Kick-off is at 18h00
Bafana Bafana will look to get their
2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign back on track when they face Liberia at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium in Monrovia on Tuesday, March 28.
Hugo Broos' side squandered a two-goal cushion to draw 2-2 with the Lone Stars in the home leg of their double-header at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday.
South Africa raced into a 2-0 lead courtesy of a brace from Lyle Foster (11' PEN, 22') and created numerous chances to put the game to bed but were made to pay for their wastefulness when Mohammed Sangare (90+1') snatched a dramatic late equaliser after Tonia Tisdell had halved the deficit on 68 minutes.
Bafana need maximum points in the Liberian capital to stand a chance of qualifying for the showpiece in Ivory Coast next year as they trail the West Africans on goal difference in third place with two matches left to play.
Both teams still have to play group leaders Morocco, who beat each of them in the June qualifiers to book their place at the AFCON 2023 finals.
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Percy Tau missed the September and November friendlies through injury but impressed on his return last week and should have scored a hat-trick. The Al Ahly winger had the ball in the back of the net on 53 minutes after beating Tommy Songo from a free-kick but the goal was chalked off as the set-piece was meant to have been taken indirectly. Tau had also won the penalty for Foster's opener after drawing a foul from the goalkeeper.
Sangare also made a welcome return for Liberia, having not been included in the squad for their last three games. The Accrington Stanley midfielder will be pushing for a start on home soil after stepping off the bench to score a sensational goal from range in stoppage time to earn his country a valuable point in South Africa. It was his second goal in six outings for the Lone Stars.
Broos has suggested he will ring the changes for the long trip to the continent's west coast, claiming Bafana struggled to compete physically with Liberia in their first encounter but insists he has faith in his players to get the job done on Tuesday.
"There will be some changes, that's for sure, and I hope that we can compete with this team physically. If we make the same mistake where the power is less than Liberia, we will have problems," the Belgian said.
"I hope we will not make the same mistake in that game because it was very clear that we were the better team. If we can refill our batteries for this match, we can come back with a positive result.
"I think the most important thing now is players must know that I still believe in them... I believe in the team because I built it and I know our good players and we can qualify for AFCON.
"Now they are waiting to see a coach who believes in them and then we start with our preparations for that difficult game on Tuesday."
Liberia head coach Ansumana Keita has warned Bafana to expect an even tougher test in Monrovia as he plots a course to Ivory Coast at their expense.
"What I'm telling you is [that we have] a tactical strategy we will use to make South Africa suffer," Keita declared. "We want to win and we are not going to choke. We are going to play, no matter what happens we will play.
"South Africa is bigger than us in football everywhere but we are more prepared than them at this time. Mentally, physically, technically and tactically we are prepared. I'm unapologetic and I'm telling the truth. At home, we are prepared."
Head-to-Head (Previous Meetings)
Matches - 1
Liberia - 0
South Africa - 0
Draws - 1
AFCON 2023 qualifying matchday 4 fixtures:
Tuesday, March 28
15h00: Eswatini v Cape Verde
15h00: Namibia v Cameroon
15h00: Malawi v Egypt
15h00: Botswana v Equatorial Guinea
18h00: Gambia v Mali
18h00: Liberia v South Africa
18h00: Mozambique v Senegal
19h00: Tanzania v Uganda
21h00: Togo v Burkina Faso
21h00: Comoros v Ivory Coast
22h00: Libya v Tunisia
Wednesday, March 29
00h00: Mauritania v Congo DR
15h00: Rwanda v Benin
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