Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Themba Zwane has weighed in on how he thinks Bafana Bafana would have fared at the recently completed FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Bafana missed out on World Cup qualification for the final round in Africa by a whisker after they were edged by Ghana for a top spot in the qualifying group by a one goal margin in the tie-breaker rules.
Hugo Broos' charges narrowly lost 1-0 to the Black Stars in the final group game of the qualifiers after a controversial penalty converted by Andre Ayew.
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Bafana and Ghana were equal on points and goal difference afterwards but the West African giants went through to the play-off round with most goals scored, seven, to South Africa's six.
Bafana also played against Morocco, in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in June and almost caused an upset in Rabat after Lyle Foster grabbed an early goal for Broos' men but the Atlas Lions turned the game around in the second stanza to win 2-1.
Having played against both Ghana and Morocco, prior to them going to the World Cup, Zwane believes Bafana would have also held their own had they qualified for the 2022 showpiece in Qatar.
"I think it was the best World Cup final ever, I was going with France but I saw something about Argentina, they are aggressive you know," 'Mshishi' said on Metro FM Sports.
"Their rest defence is on point, actually everything about them it was perfect on that day but (Kylian) Mbappe tried but it was not meant to be.
"I think we were going to compete because if you check the last time we played with Morocco, we were competing with them you know," he said.
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The Atlas Lions made history at the World Cup after becoming the first African side to reach the semi-finals after edging Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
Walid Regragui's troops also eliminated 2010 champions Spain in the last 16 on penalties after a goalless draw in extra-time but came short of reaching the final after a 2-0 defeat to France.
Zwane went on to say that he believes Bafana were on par with Morocco in their recent Afcon qualifier meeting and that showed South Africa also has the capability to hold their own at the level that was played at the World Cup.
"If we did take our chances (against Morocco), I think we would be talking something different now but what I can say is that we were going to compete and give a fight," he added.
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