FIFA has awarded Lesotho a 3–0 victory after determining that South Africa fielded an ineligible player in a 2026 World Cup qualifier. The original 2–0 result in Polokwane on March 21 has been overturned, with South Africa now recorded as losing the match 3–0. The decision leaves Bafana Bafana second in Group C on goal difference behind Benin, while Lesotho remain fifth.
According to FIFA’s disciplinary committee, South Africa violated Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code by selecting midfielder Teboho Mokoena despite his accumulation of two yellow cards in earlier qualifiers—one against Benin and another against Zimbabwe. As part of the ruling, the South African Football Association must pay a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs ($12,536). The association still has the right to appeal the decision.
South Africa’s sports minister Gayton McKenzie called the outcome “deeply regrettable” and said it had brought embarrassment to the nation. He emphasized that the immediate focus should be supporting the national team for the final two matches in October, adding that a thorough investigation would be led into the “incompetence” that resulted in the sanction.
The ruling narrows the race elsewhere in Group C as well: Nigeria move back to within three points of the top two ahead of the final two rounds of qualifiers next month. Under CAF’s qualifying format, only the nine group winners secure automatic places at the World Cup, while the four best runners-up enter play-offs that could yield a 10th African berth.
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