Bafana's permutations for AFCON knockout round

Cape Town - Bafana Bafana will meet Morocco in their final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group D clash on Monday.

Kick-off is at 18:00 SA time.

After getting their campaign off to a rocky start against Ivory Coast (1-0 defeat), Stuart Baxter’s charges steadied the ship with a 1-0 victory over neighbours Namibia last Friday courtesy of a Bongani Zungu goal.

The victory gave South Africa a chance at qualifying for the Round of 16 which starts on Friday.

With a chance of qualifying for the next round, Bafana Bafana have it all to play for against Morocco who have already secured their passage to the next round.

The top two teams from each group (A-F) will advance to the Round of 16, with the four best third-placed teams also qualifying.

In Group D, Morocco (6 points) are in first position, Ivory Coast (3) second, Bafana Bafana (3) third and Namibia (0) anchored at the bottom.

The South Africans, meanwhile, are also ranked third of best third-placed teams.

Depending on the other result in the group on Monday (Ivory Coast v Namibia, also at 18:00), Bafana could seal their qualification with a win, a draw or a loss against Morocco on Monday. 

If teams are tied on an equal number of points, the first tie-breaking criteria used will be points in head-to-head matches among tied teams.

If South Africa end third in the group, Baxter's charges will take on the host nation Egypt (Group A winner) or the tournaments dark horse Madagascar (Group B winner).

Finishing second in the group would see Bafana face the winner of Group D - Mali, Tunisia or Angola.

While topping Group D could see Bafana take on one of the third best-placed teams in either Group B, E or F.