Libya no pushover in Durban

Bafana Bafana finally face Libya in a Nations Cup qualifier on Saturday.

When South Africa first returned to international football in 1992, one of their early opponents was supposed to be Libya, but sanctions against the Gaddafi regime saw the North Africans withdraw from the qualifiers for the 1994 finals in the USA.

Now, more than a quartercentury later, the two countries finally meet in the 2019 African Nations Cup qualifiers and it remains something of a journey into the unknown for Bafana Bafana.

Libya have been to South Africa before, winning the African Nations Championship in 2014 but did not play against the hosts on their way to the title. That tournament, for home-based players only, remains the highlight of Libyan footballing success.

But this is not a sub-standard opponent as Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has been trying to impress on his players, as well as South African supporters, in the build-up to Saturday’s clash in Durban.

They are not a side with international stars, but put in workmanlike and gutsy performances. The precarious security situation in Libya has meant a FIFA ban on home matches for almost a decade now, meaning all their home games are played on neutral turf.

The league in Libya has only just re-started after several years. Yet Libya remains competitive in the African forum at both national team and club level.

Baxter will be more concerned about his own side and South Africa’s ability to put behind them the disaster that was the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

His priority is also to ensure there is sharpness from the strikers, who will lead the attack. Bafana should get many chances in the game at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, but the big question is can they finish them off successfully?

In terms of qualification, this is a key game in the race for places in next year’s finals in Cameroon, even if the top two finishers in the four-team group go through. Bafana can ill-afford slip ups and this will be a nervy afternoon.