For the First Time Since 2010: South Africa Secure Direct Qualification for the 2026 World Cup
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
The South African national team have delivered an impressive qualifying campaign, earning a direct spot at the 2026 World Cup, which will take place next summer.
On Tuesday, October 14, South Africa hosted Rwanda and cruised to a dominant 3–0 victory. In the parallel fixture, Nigeria showed no mercy to Benin, thrashing their opponents 4–0.
As a result, Bafana Bafana finished the qualifying campaign with 18 points from ten matches, surpassing both Benin and Nigeria to secure direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Nigeria finished second in the group with 17 points and will now head into the playoff stage.
This will be South Africa’s fourth appearance at the World Cup. Their last participation came in 2010, when they hosted the tournament. Bafana Bafana also featured in the 1998 and 2002 editions, though they failed to advance beyond the group stage in any of them.
Reminder: The Dailysports team has compiled detailed information on all the nations that have already secured their place in North America for the 2026 World Cup.
