South Africa vs Botswana Prediction: A matchup to be decided by slim margin

Tournament hosts for the Cosafa Cup When South Africa and Botswana square off against one another on Group A Matchday 2 at the King Zwelithini Stadium in the afternoon of Saturday, July 8, 2023, South Africa will be looking for a decisive victory over Botswana.

After beginning the competition with a dismal 1-1 draw with Namibia in the opening game of the tournament, South Africa now finds themselves tied for second place in the group standings by one point. After Elmo Kambindu's header late in the first half, Bafana Bafana found themselves playing from behind, but Rowan Human's excellent strike shortly after the restart brought them back into the game. The team that is coached by Morena Ramoreboli went on to dominate the remainder of the game, but they were unable to force a winner. The strategist pointed out that the players would need to work on their strategy for breaking down a low-block defense in the future.

On Wednesday afternoon, Botswana defeated Eswatini 1-0 to get off to a strong start in the COSAFA Cup competition against Eswatini. After Lebogang Ditsele gave the Zebras the lead with a goal in the middle of the first half, the Zebras had to withstand a barrage from their rivals in the second half in order to secure all three points that were up for grabs. According to the head coach of Botswana, Mogomotsi Mpote, "In the first half, we were in total control." "However, when you are in a position of leadership, you should anticipate a certain amount of pressure because it will come at you. Because I had brought along several younger boys who lacked experience, it was more difficult for them. Ahead of this match, the veteran said "It will be the toughest, [the games against] South Africa and Namibia, because, as you know, they always fight for that supremacy."

The two teams have competed against one another 18 times, with South Africa emerging victorious 14 times and suffering defeat just twice. In regulation time, Botswana have never been victorious over South Africa. Both of their victories over Bafana Bafana in the COSAFA Cup were on penalty kicks (the first in May 2015 and the second in June 2019). In three of their last five matchups against one another, Botswana have been unable to score against South Africa. Since their defeat against Mozambique in the penalty shootout round of the 2022 COSAFA Cup, South Africa have gone ten games without suffering a loss. In each of their last ten matches, South Africa have managed to find the back of the net. Botswana have now won two straight matches after losing their previous four in a row.

South Africa enters this match with a strong track record, currently riding a lengthy unbeaten streak. In this match, expect Bafana Bafana to step up their game despite the fact that they opened the tournament with a draw against Namibia. Botswana is riding high following their victory on the first day and has a chance to give the hosts a run for their money. This could be a really exciting matchup, but it has the potential to become a high-scoring contest with South Africa emerging victorious by the narrowest of margins.