South Africa are coming off the back of a very respectable 1-1 draw away to Andorra. This was their first clash after winning their third-place play-off in the African Cup of Nations 2023 beating DR Congo on penalties.
Bafana Bafana will be on the road once again this Tuesday when they face fellow African giants, Algeria. These two sides have not met very often in the past with their last clash coming all the way back in 2015 when South Africa lost 3-1, so the 2010 World Cup hosts will be gunning for revenge.
All odds are projected at the time of writing*
South Africa first goalscorer odds – Our picks
Khanyisa Mayo – 7/2*
Having missed out on the AFCON 2023 squad, Khanyisa Mayo now has a chance to impress on the international stage. A lot has been spoken about Mayo and how he’s seen as one of the players South Africa will rely on in the future.
So, when he was hooked off against a poor Andorra side without finding the back of the net, eyebrows were raised. However. With him likely to start through the middle once again on Tuesday, he’s the safest option for a South African first goalscorer.
Elias Mokwana – 19/2*
There appears to be a slight changing of the guard within the South Africa squad as some of their more ageing players dip out of the national side following a successful AFCON 2023.
Someone such as Percy Tau was not included in the last round of call-ups, whereas Elias Mokwana was handed his first start for South Africa against Andorra and showed his country what they’ve been missing by scoring their only goal of the game.
This sort of form and ability to help South Africa attack should see him start out wide once again, especially when no other wingers are proving themselves to be in a rich vein of form like Mokwana is on the international stage.
Algeria will be looking to have a lot of the ball and pin South Africa back, so having Mokwana’s pace and dribbling ability on the counter-attack and forcing Algeria to retreat towards their own goal will be crucial.
Iqraam Rayners – 12/1*
Iqraam Rayners was snubbed for a start against Andorra, but after seeing his side only manage to score one goal from 80% possession, questions will need to be asked about the forward line.
The fact that South Africa only managed to muster up four shots on target against Andorra should see the changes ring in the side against a tougher opponent in Algeria.
Rayners has one goal to his name for South Africa so at least he’s already found the back of the net, unlike his strike partner Mayo, and this could see him handed an unlikely start.
If Rayners does start against Algeria, it will be a great chance to back him to score first and also, to see how well he copes leading the line for South Africa against a country they could well end up facing at major tournaments in the not-so-distant future.
Patrick Maswanganyi – 19/1*
Patrick Maswanganyi is one of the most exciting players within the South Africa national team’s set-up right now. The Orlando Pirates attacking midfielder has five goal involvements in his first season with the South African giants and has been duly rewarded with a first senior call-up.
South Africa and Orlando Pirates legend, Teko Modise, has offered words of wisdom and advice to the young attacker who’s looking to make his mark in the national side. These words appeared to work as he was a standout performer against Andorra playing the full 90 minutes.
Given Algeria are a significantly better outfit than Andorra, there is a chance that Maswanganyi will be deployed a bit deeper into more of a five-man midfield. This would, of course, decrease his likelihood of scoring anytime, never mind first, so it’s worth keeping this in mind before punting on the South African talent.
Remember to check out all the other free betting tips that we have to offer throughout this international break.
