AFCON CHAT ROOM

Bafana Bafana will kick off their bid for a second consecutive appearance in the continent’s premier soccer competition with a trip to Ghana later this year.
Stuart Baxter’s men begin their Afcon 2021 in November, and have been drawn in Group C alongside the Black Stars, Sudan and one of Mauritius and Sao Tome e Principe, who are set to square off for the final spot in the pool.
They jet off to the West African nation first up, with the opening fixture taking place on Friday, 15 November.
This is followed by a home game, where they will be squaring off against Sudan four days later.
As was the case in the previous campaign, the qualifiers then take a lengthy break of close to a year, before returning in September 2020.
Bafana resume their bid with another home fixture, as they welcome whoever prevailed in the preliminary round between Mauritius and Sao Tome e Principe on 4 September.
There’s another four days before the return leg, where South Africa travel to one of the two islands.
Another clash against Ghana, this time on home soil, follows for the South Africans on Saturday 10 October, and the campaign concludes with a trip to Sudan on 13 November.
Bafana returned to the continental showpiece in the 2019 edition in Egypt, after missing the previous tournament.
They finished in the quarterfinals after eliminating the hosts in the Round of 16.
Ghana, on the other hand, failed to progress past the last 16 after being dumped out by eventual semifinalists Tunisia on penalties after the game ended in a one-all stalemate.
Neither of the three other Group C contenders and prospective qualified for the recent tournament.