According to the provided source, South Africa’s national team, known as Bafana Bafana, has a notable away record in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Since the start of the 2015 AFCON qualifying campaign, they have won eight, drawn four and lost four on the road, scoring 27 goals and conceding 18. Their current away form includes a four‑match unbeaten run, earning ten points from a possible twelve against Liberia (2‑1), South Sudan (3‑2), Congo (1‑1) and Uganda (2‑0). The last away defeat in an AFCON qualifier came against Morocco in June 2022, a 2‑1 loss after Lyle Foster had given South Africa an early lead. This run is just one short of their best streak of five consecutive away qualifiers without defeat, which they achieved twice, from 2000 to 2003 and from 2016 to 2019. Overall, South Africa have played 43 away AFCON qualifiers, with a record of 17 wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats, scoring 53 goals and conceding 48. They have avoided defeat in 30 of those 43 matches (about 70 %) and won 40 % of them, averaging 1.49 points per game on the road. The team’s first ever away AFCON qualifier was a 4‑1 loss to Zimbabwe in August 1992, and their first away qualifying victory came a year later, a 3‑1 win over Mauritius in July 1993. The 4‑1 defeat in Zimbabwe remains one of their three heaviest qualifying defeats, alongside 3‑0 losses to Zambia in 1993 and to Ghana in 2004. Their biggest away qualifying victory is a 4‑0 win over Gambia in 2016, when Thamsanqa Gabuza and Keagan Dolly each scored twice. An impressive away result was a 2‑0 win in Nigeria in June 2017, with goals from Tokelo Rantie and Percy Tau. The source notes that South Africa has never played Eritrea before; the upcoming qualifier will mark Eritrea as the fiftieth African opponent for Bafana Bafana. Eritrea demonstrated competitiveness in a recent 1‑1 draw with Kenya in Nairobi, showing a squad increasingly composed of players from their diaspora in Europe. The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification runs from September 2026 to March 2027, with 48 teams drawn into twelve groups; the top two from each group advance to the 24‑team finals. Hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda qualify automatically but still participate in the qualifiers, with only one additional team able to advance from their groups.
