Cape Town - Bafana Bafana will face Angola in the second round of the 2018 Soccer World Cup qualifiers in November, following a lavish draw ceremony in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.
Shakes Mashaba’s men swill avoid playing the first round of the 2018 SWC qualifiers due to their current place in the FIFA rankings.
Bafana will play the first leg in Angola, before playing hosts in the second leg.
The winners of the Round 2 fixtures will then be split into five groups of four and will play each other home and away to decide which five nations will be heading to the showpiece event in Russia.
African Zone qualifying draw for 2018 World Cup made in St Petersburg on Saturday (five African sides qualify for finals in Russia):1st round (October 2015)
The 26 lowest-ranked African sides in FIFA rankings play each other in two-legged ties:
Somalia v Niger
South Sudan v Mauritania
Gambia v Namibia
Sao Tome and Principe v Ethiopia
Chad v Sierra Leone
Comoros v Lesotho
Djibouti v Swaziland
Eritrea v Botswana
Seychelles v Burundi
Liberia v Guinea Bissau
Central African Republic v Madagascar
Mauritius v Kenya
Tanzania v Malawi
2nd round (November 2015)
The 13 winners from the first round and the 27 other countries compete in two-leg ties with winners progressing to a group stage:
Somalia or Niger v Cameroon
South Sudan or Mauritania v Tunisia
Gambia or Namibia v Guinea
Sao Tome and Principe or Ethiopia v Congo
Chad or Sierra Leone v Egypt
Comoros or Lesotho v Ghana
Djibouti or Swaziland v Nigeria
Eritrea or Botswana v Mali
Seychelles or Burundi v Democratic Republic of Congo
Liberia or Guinea Bissau v Ivory Coast
Central Africa Republic or Madagascar v Senegal
Mauritius or Kenya v Cape Verde
Tanzania or Malawi v Algeria
Sudan v Zambia
Libya v Rwanda
Morocco v Equatorial Guinee
Mozambique v Gabon
Benin v Burkina Faso
Togo v Uganda
Angola v South Africa
3rd round (October 2016 to November 2017)
The 20 winners from the second round knockout matches will be drawn in five groups of four (to be made at the end of the 2nd round). The group winners will qualify for the 2018 World Cup.