Stellenbosch striker Iqraam Rayners has vowed that losing against Nigeria is not an option for South Africa on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Rayners has been included in the Bafana Bafana squad that will face the Super Eagles at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium this weekend in a matchday three encounter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
Nigeria are desperate for a first win of the series following their disappointing draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November.
A win would see the Super Eagles overtake South Africa on the league table, as the Bafana Bafana only boast three points earned in a narrow win over the Benin Republic last year.
A draw for South Africa will keep them ahead of Nigeria while a victory would establish them as the favourite to secure the ticket to the Mundial.
And Rayners, who scored the goals that helped unfancied Stellenbosch to finish third in the PSL and qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup, has made clear South Africa’s intention ahead of the crucial encounter – win or draw, nothing less.
“If we can’t win, we must at least get a point in Nigeria,” Rayners said, as per Sowetan Live.
“Like the coach said, he wants four points from these two games but we will try to get six points…this is football and anything can happen, we might steal the game in the last minutes in Nigeria, you saw what happened at the weekend [referring to Pirates’ win over Sundowns].”
The last time these two teams met on Nigerian soil, South Africa claimed a memorable 2-0 win in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in 2017.
The Super Eagles, however, triumphed on penalties when they faced the Bagana Bafana in the semifinals of the AFCON earlier this year.