But Niger’s qualification is justified by Confederation Africaine de Football article 14, which prioritizes head-to-head results of the tied teams in a “mini-league’’ format.
SAFA chief executive Robin Petersen said the goal-difference tiebreaker is “the fairer option,’’ according to the kickoff.com website. But the rules had been set before the start of qualifying.
Going by traditional tiebreaker rules, the South Africans felt they had adopted the right strategy in playing for a draw. But, regardless of the Egypt-Niger result, South Africa would have had to win in order to qualify.
South Africa coach Pitso Mosimane had gone with an attacking lineup in Saturday’s game against Sierra Leone, benching midfielder Reneilwe “Yeye’’ Letsholonyane. But after receiving notice of Egypt’s 3-0 victory over Niger, Mosimane sent in Letsholonyane in an attempt to preserve a 0-0 tie.
Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune got into the time-wasting, injury-faking spirit late in the match. Khune appeared to be exaggerating the effects of a clash with a Sierra Leone player, staying down to receive medical treatment. Then, Khune “jogged happily to the back of his net, laughing as he tapped his wrist to tell Bafana fans not to worry, he was time-wasting,’’ according to kickoff.com.
Group G finished in a three-way tie for first place, South Africa with a plus-2 goal differential, Sierra Leone even, and Niger with a minus-2 goal differential.
Mosimane and his players believed they had advanced, as did the 35,000 in the stadium.
The scenario was similar to the 2002 World Cup first round in South Korea. Then, coach Jomo Sono had the South Africans playing for a goal-difference advantage late in a game against Spain in Daegu. Meanwhile, Paraguay was rallying for a 3-1 victory over Slovenia in Jeju. South Africa was losing to Spain, 3-2, as Sono began replacing attackers. And the tactic seemed sensible, until substitute Nelson Cuevas scored Paraguay’s third goal in the 84th minute; then, South Africa had to go for another goal, but had used up its subs, Sono having sent in defenders instead of an attacking player such as Delron Buckley or Steven Pienaar.
