South Africa's Bafana Bafana will square off against Cape Verde on Saturday February 3 at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro.
This will be the sixth encounter between these sides since they first met in June 2004. In this article, we'll take a look at previous Bafana Bafana vs Cape Verde head to head meetings over the years.
Bafana Bafana vs Cape Verde head to head
As we've previously mentioned, these teams faced each other five times in the past. Interestingly, four of those encounters were FIFA World Cup qualifying games, while the other came at the Africa Cup of Nations over a decade ago.
Here's a quick recap of their previous skirmishes:
2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Bafana Bafana and Cape Verde were drawn in the same qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Ghana, DR Congo, Bafana Bafana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Uganda were the six teams in Group 2.
Whoever finished at the top of the group would qualify for the 2006 World Cup, while the second and third-placed teams would book a place in the 2006 AFCON.
Bafana Bafana and Cape Verde met twice, once in June 2004, with the reverse fixture taking place in June 2005.
Interestingly, it was South Africa who won both games by the same scoreline (2-1). Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to advance to the World Cup, as Bafana Bafana finished third with 16 points from 10 matches.
And while South Africa advanced to AFCON 2006, it wasn't a pleasant tournament for them, as they finished last in their group with no points.
2013 Africa Cup of Nations
South Africa hosted AFCON 2013, and they were paired alongside Cape Verde, Morocco and Angola in Group A.
Interestingly, Bafana Bafana vs Cape Verde was the opening game of AFCON 2013, and both teams played out a goalless draw in that game.
South Africa finished as group leaders with Cape Verde in second-place. Although both teams made it through to the knockout stages, they were both eliminated in the next round.
2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Bafana Bafana and Cape Verde were drawn in the same group once more, this time in the qualifying rounds of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Both teams met twice in September 2017, and this time, it was Cape Verde that won both clashes by the same scoreline (2-1).
Although Cape Verde managed to get six points from Bafana Bafana, they lost all their other group games, finishing third.
On the other hand, Bafana Bafana finished last with four points, with group leaders Senegal advancing to the World Cup.
Bafana Bafana vs Cape Verde head to head stats
- Bafana Bafana and Cape Verde met five times in the past
- Both teams have two wins apiece, with a draw between them
- Bafana Bafana's last victory over Cape Verde came in 2005
- These teams last met in September 2017
This article was most recently revised and updated 11 months ago
