Following the conclusion of the group stage on Wednesday, the COSAFA Cup semi-finals take place on Friday, with host nation South Africa squaring off against Namibia in an intriguing tie.
South Africa advanced as the winners of Group A, seeing them drawn against group B's second-placed side, who collected a commendable tally of seven points of their own in the group stage.
Match preview
South Africa came into the COSAFA Cup on home turf with high expectations, and they have more than risen to the occasion, qualifying for the semi-finals in first place in group A.
Hugo Broos's men started their campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Botswana, as Kagiso Malinga netted the only goal of the game in the 67th minute.
They then won by the same scoreline in the following clash with Eswatini thanks to Thabang Sibanyoni's goal on the hour mark after their opponents were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half time, as Felix Badenhorst was shown a red card.
Bafana Bafana recorded their most convincing win of the group stage in their third game, as they thrashed Lesotho 4-0 thanks to a Sepana Letsoalo hat-trick and a Sphelele Mkhulise goal.
While top spot was already all but confirmed going into the final day, they successfully sealed the first-placed finish with a goalless draw against Zambia on Wednesday.
Having cruised through the group stage without shipping a goal, Brood's men will head into the semi-finals with plenty of confidence as they go in search of their fifth COSAFA Cup title.
Namibia also looked set to cruise through to the COSAFA Cup knockout stage, as they won their first two games in impressive fashion.
Bobby Samaria's men started with a 2-1 win over a heavily-fancied Senegal side, as Elmo Kambindu restored the lead after Albert Diene had cancelled out Marcel Papama's early opener.
Kambindu was again on the scoresheet in their 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe, putting the game out of sight in the 86th minute after a Qadr Amin own goal.
However, they would then be held to a 1-1 draw by strugglers Malawi, as Kambindu's third goal of the tournament was cancelled out by a 73rd-minute Mician Mhone equaliser.
That meant they went into the last game against Mozambique with a three-point lead over the chasing side, but a swing in goal difference of two or more would see them drop out of the top two.
Samaria's side would scrape through, suffering a 1-0 defeat to edge out Mozambique on goals scored, although the drop to second spot means they were handed an unfavourable semi-final draw against Group A winners South Africa.
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Team News
Dangerous winger Sepana Letsoalo should play a key role in the South Africa attack, having opened his account for the tournament with an eye-catching hat-trick in the victory over Lesotho.
Rushine De Reuck was a key man at the heart of the back four in the first three games of the group stage, and he will hope for a return to the starting XI after being reduced to a substitute appearance last time out.
He will face stiff competition, though, as Mashweu Mphahlele and Vusi Sibiya kept a clean sheet in the draw with Zambia.
Elmo Kambindu will continue to lead the line for Namibia, having hit three of their five goals at the tournament so far.
He will be supported by Marcel Papama, who netted the opening goal in their 2-1 win against Senegal.
Ananias Gebhardt and Charles Hambira are expected to continue their partnership at the heart of the back four, shielding Lloyd Kazapua between the sticks.
South Africa possible starting lineup:
Vyger; Magqwaka, Mphahlele, De Reuck, Ngcobo; Sibanyoni, Maart, Phohlongo; Letsoalo, Malinga, Ngobeni
Namibia possible starting lineup:
Kazapua; Camberipa, Hambira, Gebhardt, Petrus; Stephanus, Fredericks, Hoaseb, Limbondi; Papama, Kambindu
We say: South Africa 2-1 Namibia
The host nation will feel they have the quality to get over the line on Friday, especially having shown themselves to be one of the tournament's strongest sides in the group stage.
Namibia will certainly pose a threat but could fall just short against a side filled with quality.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a South Africa win with a probability of 55.61%. A draw had a probability of 25% and a win for Mozambique had a probability of 19.35%.
The most likely scoreline for a South Africa win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.15%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.3%) and 2-1 (9.34%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.69%), while for a Mozambique win it was 0-1 (7.33%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that South Africa would win this match.
